Teenager charged following daytime carjacking in Billings Bridge area

Ottawa police are investigating after a 15-year-old allegedly used an imitation firearm in a broad daylight carjacking earlier this week. CTV’s Josh Marano repo

Ottawa police say a 15-year-old boy is facing several serious charges after a reported carjacking in the Billings Bridge area.

The series of events unfolded Monday afternoon.

Police said a teenager tried to steal an unoccupied vehicle in a parking lot in the area of Bank Street and Riverside Drive at around 12:40 p.m., but when that attempt failed, he allegedly pointed an imitation firearm at another driver and demanded her keys.

The woman was able to get her child out of the car before the teen got in.

A witness who confronted the teen was allegedly threatened before the boy drove away. The vehicle was later found several kilometres away following a crash in a parking lot on St. Laurent Boulevard.

The accused and two 14-year-olds were found inside the car and arrested, police said.

The teen suspect cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Ottawa police say he is facing charges of robbery, theft of a motor vehicle, and possessing/pointing a firearm.

The two 14-year-olds were released on promises to appear in court in relation to being found in the stolen vehicle.

The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Robbery Unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5116.

Ward councillor calls for more support for youth

Alta Vista Ward Coun. Marty Carr says the news is concerning, especially given the place and time the alleged incident happened.

“Certainly, it’s disconcerting,” said Carr. “We always say to people, you know, there’s no threat to the public, nothing to worry about, but certainly when you hear about an incident like this, it does make you think twice about your community and going out and just visiting the doctor or grabbing lunch with a friend and how can this happen.”

Carr called the case a “one-off” but says she wants to see more investment in helping youth stay out of trouble.

“I think as part of our community and safety wellbeing plan, we are looking at identifying priority neighborhoods for youth. There are some in my ward, but I think we need to be looking across all partners—policing, not for profit—looking at how we can better support youth in our community,“ she said.

“When you look at something, such as community centers and their availability, certainly that’s something you’ve seen in my ward that they’ve been shut down, used for shelter, but we need to look at what youth needs are in the community, what sort of programing responds to them, what hours is it available as well as looking at the supports that can be provided by the schools, not-for-profit agencies, and really have that big holistic picture of how we can better support our youth.”

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Joshua Marano