A Strathcona swarming incident last September has led Calgary police to level assault charges on five males.
While the suspects were all under 18 at the time of the incident and can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, Calgary Police Sgt. Jim Rorison said the attack was a case of mistaken identity and he isn’t convinced the suspects knew how serious their actions were.
“I don’t know if that was the intention of the attack,” said Rorison, adding the community proved instrumental in the investigation. “The severity of the attack, sometimes I don’t think young people realize the ramifications of their actions, the consequences of hitting someone with a stick or whatever else was used, it doesn’t have to be a gun or a knife that kills somebody.”
Calgary police responded to a disturbance at a Strathcona community centre Sept. 7, 2007, to find four teens battered with bats and blunt objects with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, as one male was sent to hospital with head wounds.
Two of the suspects have been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon while the others face common assault charges.
-neil.mackinnon@metronews.ca
