Photo via OPP East Region.
Two frightening events in South Frontenac Township led to the arrest of two youths who used what was later determined to be an airsoft pistol to shoot at two different houses.
And the airsoft pistol “resembled a restricted handgun,” the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said in a press release the following day.
According to the Frontenac County Detachment of the OPP, at approximately 9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 30, 2024, a black pickup truck was seen stopping at a residence on Ellerbeck Road in South Frontenac.
“Witnesses reported at least three people were in the vehicle, with at least one of them shooting at the residence. The vehicle fled the scene,” police detailed in the release.
After police were notified of the events, the OPP said, officers from the Frontenac Detachment, along with officers from the Lennox and Addington County Detachment, responded to the area. However, police were not able to locate the truck.
In response to Kingstonist inquiries, Constable Rob Martell, Media Relations Officer for the Frontenac OPP said that incident occurred on Ellerbeck Street near the Petworth Road area in Harrowsmith.
Less than an hour after the unfruitful search for the pickup truck in question, the Frontenac OPP received a call from a resident in Inverary who reported seeing a black pickup truck near a residence with someone shooting at the house, police said. Inverary is also in South Frontenac Township but is located about 30 km away from Ellerbeck Road in Harrowsmith
“Frontenac OPP members quickly located the vehicle and three individuals were arrested. A search of the vehicle located an air pistol that resembled a restricted handgun,” the OPP said.
According to police, all three of the arrested individuals are youths, which means they cannot be named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. While one of the youths was released without charges, the other two were charged with possession of an imitation weapon for a dangerous purpose, the OPP shared. The two youths that were charged were then release from custody and are set to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Kingston “at a later date,” police said.
The Frontenac OPP continue to investigate these incidents. Anyone with information that might assist in the investigation is asked to call Frontenac OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Those with information who prefer to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
