York Regional Police have issued a warning about a “dangerous social media trend” called the ‘Orbeez Challenge’ after two recent incidents where young people were shot with gel pellet guns and injured in Vaughan.
“We don’t want to promote bad behaviour, but we felt this was important to do,” Const. Maniva Armstrong told CP24.
“We take these (incidents) very seriously and we will act accordingly.”
Armstrong said they made the decision to issue an alert about this trend, which she said is popular south of the border, to highlight the “seriousness of this matter.”
She said the air-powered replica firearms that are used to shoot water or gel pellets often appear identical to real guns, and when police respond to a call for a weapon, there will be a “heightened response.”
“Police responding to these weapons calls are often in the position of having to make quick decisions on whether the weapon is real, a toy or a replica, which could have significant consequences,” YRP said in a May 31 release.
Armstrong said they won’t hesitate to arrest and charge anyone who injures another person by firing a pellet gun.
“There’s lots of dynamics involved. … We want people to get the bigger picture,” she said.
Earlier this month, York police responded to calls for two incidents involving pellet guns.
The first incident happened on May 2, shortly after 6:30 p.m., at a park near Sunset Ridge and Kistler Street, which is west of Islington Avenue and south of Major MacKenzie Drive.
Police said a male youth fired a gel pellet gun at a group of youths. Two of the victims sustained minor injuries, they said.
A second similar incident happened two days later on May 4. Investigators said at around 2:45 p.m. that day, a group of students were walking on Shawbridge Boulevard when a black Jeep approached them. A male inside the vehicle then allegedly fired a gel pellet gun at the students. One person was struck in the head and suffered minor injuries.
Through further investigation, York police were able to identify and arrest a 14-year-old boy. The teen, whose name has not been released under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is facing two counts of assault with a weapon.
A search warrant was also executed at his residence. Investigators also located a vehicle associated to the suspect and seized evidence in connection to the offences.
Anyone with further information can contact the York Regional Police’s #4 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7441, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-84777 (TIPS) or www.1800222tips.com.
