Police investigate 3 Halloween swarmings in east Ottawa
Groups of teens stole candy and in one incident, cell phones, according to the Ottawa Police Service.
Police in Ottawa are investigating reports of multiple Halloween swarmings in east Ottawa in which small children were robbed of their candy.
Staff Sgt. Michael Haarbosch said there were at least three robberies reported on Tuesday evening: one on Ogilvie Road near Naskapi Drive, a second on Rainsford Avenue, and a third on Sarabella Street.
Three new Halloween swarming robberies files thus far. Several victims in the area of Ogilvie Rd N. If you were a victim, please report it.
—@MHaarboschRoving groups of thugs robbing kids for candy on Halloween. How low can you go!!! If you have info, turn them in! Call <a href="https://twitter.com/CrimeStoppersOT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CrimeStoppersOT</a>
—@MHaarboschIn all three incidents, groups of teenagers robbed younger children of their candy, Haarbosch said. The Ogilvie Road robbery involved a group of between six and eight suspects, he added.
Haarbosch wondered why, on a night when youngsters could simply ring a doorbell to get candy, some opted to steal it instead.
"In cases using violence and swarming-style methods to obtain it, it's frustrating," Haarbosch said. "It's maddening, really."
In one of the reported swarmings, the children also had phones stolen, Haarbosch said.
No one was injured in the robberies, Haarbosch said, and police don't believe the three incidents are connected.