Police are investigating after the pilot and paramedic aboard an ORNGE air ambulance helicopter were injured by a green laser beam fired at them from a downtown Toronto rooftop earlier this month.
An ORNGE spokesperson said the helicopter was flying over Richmond and Sherbourne streets at 8:50 p.m. on Feb. 15 when it was hit by a green laser.
“The aircraft was en route back to base at Billy Bishop Airport after completing a call to Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto,” ORNGE said Thursday.
The chopper was able to land without incident.
Both the pilot and paramedic aboard were then taken to hospital for assessment of a mild eye injury.
Video cameras aboard the helicopter captured the laser strike.
The federal Aeronautics Act carries penalties of up to $100,000 in fines or five years in prison for pointing a laser at an aircraft.
ORNGE says its aircraft have been hit by laser beams five times so far this year, two more times than they were hit during the entirety of 2019.
