Haldimand Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they are continuing an ongoing investigation surrounding events that took place at the Caledonia Fair last Friday involving 150 youths.
In a Oct. 2 media release, police say that members of Haldimand, Norfolk and Brant OPP along with the OPP Emergency Response team (ERT) responded to the fairgrounds at Caithness Street East just after 8 p.m. after receiving reports of multiple fights involving the large crowd of youths. There were no reports of serious injury and a 16-year-old person, whose identity is restricted under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was charged under the Liquor Licence Act with public intoxication.
Derek Rogers, Regional Media Relations Coordinator for OPP West Region, says Haldimand OPP officers arrived to the scene and quickly realized more assistance was needed and that's when other OPP detachments were called in along with OPP ERT to help break up the altercation and disperse the crowd.
He said that of the 150 youth involved, not all of them were fighting and that some were observing and others taking video recordings of the incident. He says police are still investigating the cause of the altercation and what led it to escalate.
Recently, there have been other reports by Hamilton Police of "swarming" incidents that took place at the Ancaster Fair where, "in one instance, the victim was swarmed and robbed of their property. The victim was transported to hospital with minor injuries."
Rogers said OPP are aware of those incidents but said swarming was not involved in this case.
"I'm aware of other fairs in other communities in which this has been an issue. I've heard specifically about swarming incidents, that's not what was going on at the fair in Caledonia," he said.
"Certainly, I think anyone who has been watching the news lately would be well aware that these have been a problem this fall."
He says people attending public events should be vigilant about their surroundings to stay safe.
"I think all of us have that sort of sense of when things are feeling a little bit dangerous. So you should trust that instinct, that's an instinct that we all have and when you start to feel the hair on the back of your neck going up, that's an opportunity for you to maybe extract yourself from the situation that you're in and go someplace that's more safe."
He advised that people should keep the valuables hidden or not bring them altogether, travelling in groups at these events, and staying in public well lit spaces can all help with safety at community events.
Haldimand OPP continue to investigate these events and anyone with any information that can assist with this ongoing investigation, are asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com, where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2000.
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