By Matt Nemeth

Alleged BB vandals could face firearm charges

Mar 3, 2017 | 5:03 PM

Medicine Hat, AB — Friday morning some residents of Redcliff and Medicine Hat were left sweeping up the mess made by three alleged vandals armed with BB guns the night before.

“We’ve got 9 or 10 vehicles in the town of Redcliff that have been shot,” said RCMP S/Sgt. Sean Maxwell, adding his department had received numerous calls since the day started.

Lisa Kuzik was one of the many victims who awoke to the unpleasant surprise.

“It’s so senseless,” she said after dropping her children off to school. “Why go around and destroy other people’s property needlessly? It’s disrespectful, it’s rude, it’s ignorant. There’s no reason for it.”

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Police estimate the spree, which lasted a little over three hours from the initial call to the apprehension of the suspects, caused thousands of dollars worth of damage between the two communities. And Insp. Joe West with the Medicine Hat Police Service says the potential was there for even more harm to be caused.

“There’s a huge public safety risk here,” he said Friday afternoon. “The BBs were powerful enough to break through glass, so we’re happy no people were hit that we know of.”

Police say they’re aware of at least 20 vehicles in Medicine Hat and Redcliff that were vandalized in the spree. Each one having to be investigated as its own separate file.

“It’s a huge strain on resources,” says West. “If we have 30 files at the end of the day that’s 30 individual files that the officer has to collect statements on. “It’s just a tremendous amount of work for a very foolish activity.”

Three people have been arrested. Kyle Dick and Brayden Beauchesne, both 19-years-old and from Medicine Hat, have been charged with mischief to property under $5,000. The third person arrested is a juvenile so his name is not being released.

“We had somebody who saw a vehicle, saw some kids shooting a pellet gun out of it, got a great description for our officers,” said West. “That description was broadcast to our patrol officers, they managed to locate the vehicle luckily with the occupants inside.”

Police say the BB guns — four of them — were also inside the vehicle.

“The evidence on this one is pretty strong,” added West.

Experts are now testing the BB guns found in the three suspects possession. West says the trio could face firearm charges if it’s determined the guns can fire projectiles over 500 feet per second.