Ottawa Valley OPP warns parents of teenagers playing dangerous and illegal games
Ontario Provincial Police say teenagers in Renfrew County are performing dangerous and illegal acts as a form of a game or a challenge.
Police say kids between the ages of 14-19 are filming themselves and friends performing stunts and then sharing the videos in a competition for cash.
"Reports are that students from multiple schools in the area have been participating in an ongoing activity, they describe it as a car rally," says OPP Constable Tylor Copeland.
Copeland says participants pay money to enter the competition. One of the acts reported to police was the removal of a stop sign at an intersection, which could lead to a car crash.
"The organizers will basically rate or judge those videos and a monetary value will be placed to a fundraiser (for the winners)," explains Copeland. "I think there was some mention of using it towards prom."
Arnprior resident Cassidy Whitelock believes she had a first-hand run in with kids playing one of these games in Arnprior, Ont. She says she was driving past McNab Public School on Wednesday night when she noticed something in the middle of the road.
"Once I got close enough, and it was quite close to the point that I was already slowing down, it becomes clear that this is a young child, probably 10 to 14 age range," recalls the life-long McNab/Braeside resident. "And like I say, not moving, forcing me to slow down."
Whitelock, a 24-year-old nurse at CHEO, recalls at least two kids dressed in all black. She says she could hear them laughing as she drove away.
"There was one in the road, the main person in the road doing the taunting for sure, and then one person - I'm not sure if they were recording or just watching off to the side," says Whitelock.
This is not the first incident reported to take place in the Arnprior and McNab/Braeside area either.
In an Arnprior Facebook group, one poster described an incident involving youth throwing rocks at passing vehicles and playing chicken with cars on skateboards.
Whitelock says her friend also experienced the exact same incident she did earlier in the day. That drove her to post her experience online as well.
"That's why I posted about it; hopefully mom or dad is on Facebook, sees it, and goes, 'Oh crap, my kid is outside'," Whitelock told CTV News Ottawa.
"It could result in someone getting seriously hurt or harmed," says Copeland, who adds parents need to be aware of what their children are doing online. "And obviously being involved with criminal charges."
"It could have been such an easy tragedy," says Whitelock, who adds being involved in such a tragedy would hit even closer to home being a children's nurse.
"And I don't think kids in that age range are thinking that far ahead."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Drone footage shows Ukrainian village battered to ruins as residents flee Russian advance
The Ukrainian village of Ocheretyne has been battered by fighting, drone footage obtained by The Associated Press shows. The village has been a target for Russian forces in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Egypt media cite progress in truce talks as Israel downplays chances of end to war with Hamas
A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported "noticeable progress" in ongoing cease-fire talks with Israel while an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war.
Bystander livestreams during Charlotte standoff show an ever-growing appetite for social media video
Saing Chhoeun was locked out of his Charlotte, N.C., home on Monday as law enforcement with high-powered rifles descended into his yard and garage, using a car as a shield as they were met with a shower of gunfire from the direction of his neighbor's house.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.