It was a busy Canada Day for Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) which responded to a series of disturbances from fireworks being illegally set off in Kitchener, leading officers to close off Victoria Park.
Just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday evening, WRPS said officers were on scene in Victoria Park for crowd control efforts, closing the park and advising the public to avoid the area.
“In Kitchener’s Victoria Park, fireworks were seized from multiple youths, several Trespass to Property Act charges were laid, and a 17-year-old male was arrested for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Several incidents remain under investigation,” WRPS said in a release.
Before midnight, police updated their posts to say they were monitoring smaller crowds due to fireworks being illegally set off, remaining on scene.
Earlier in the day, police said they seized a small bag of fireworks from a group of youth, who have since been charged under the Trespass to Property Act.
It all came amidst what police called a “large volume of calls during Canada Day celebrations in Kitchener and across Waterloo Region.” In a release, WRPS stated that police and City of Kitchener Bylaw officers responded to various incidents, including disturbances, fireworks being discharged in public spaces, and mischief.
“Waterloo Regional Police mobilized resources from across the organization, including the Public Order Unit, Direct Action Response Team, Community and Youth Engagement Unit, General Investigations Unit, and Auxiliary Unit to manage events throughout the Region,” WRPS stated.
The General Investigations Unit also arrested and charged a 17-year-old from Kitchener in relation to a robbery at a fireworks vendor just before Canada Day.
570 NewsRadio has reached out to police for more information, but so far, there appears to be no connections between these events.
Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, said the events across the city were a success, with more than 35,000 people coming to downtown to celebrate without incident or injury.
“While frustrating and disturbing, the simultaneous negative actions of a few in the area surrounding downtown will not deter us from bringing people together to celebrate in ways that are reflective of the great city we know Kitchener to be,” he said in a statement.
“As a community, we all need to be concerned about the unruly behaviour of a small group of youth in the region — whether in a city park or elsewhere — and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to address these issues by taking the strongest stance possible to hold individuals accountable for their unlawful behaviour.”
