Teenage gunman runs amok in Iqaluit

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Iqaluit felt like a city under siege for a few hours last Saturday night, when a distraught teenage boy roamed Iqaluit firing random shots with a rifle.

Police ordered taxi drivers to stay off the road and temporarily prevented people from leaving the Royal Canadian Legion as they searched for the gunman, RCMP Cpl. Dave Kalist said.

A 17-year-old Iqaluit teenager faces one count of careless use of a firearm and once count of pointing a firearm in connection with the incident.

Cpl. Dave Kalist said a youth, who cannot be named under the Young Offenders Act, was upset over a “personal situation.”

“We were actively looking for him when we saw and heard shots being fired,” Kalist said.

People reported seeing an armed male in the area known as “DJ hill,” above the DJ Specialties corner store at the edge of Happy Valley, just after midnight.

Kalist and other officers were searching the 300-block when they saw muzzle flashes from a discharging rifle on top of the hill.

People throughout the city heard the shots.

The shooter fled on foot towards the Legion. Police then told Legion staff to keep patrons inside until the area was secured, Kalist said.

“There’s nothing to indicate he was specifically targeting taxis, but we take these situations very seriously. We did not know what his intentions were at the time,” Kalist said.

The youth, a student at Inuksuk High School, was arrested the next day. He was released after a bail hearing under a strict set of conditions earlier this week, and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3.

Kalist acknowledged the gravity of the situation — just two days after a 13-year-old Iqaluit girl was found dead in her home. However, police say the two incidents are not connected.

“We want to let people know it was serious but there’s no need to take any special precautions,” he said.