Police say firearm brandished during fight involving 20 youths in Kitchener

Young people in Kitchener’s Forest Heights neighbourhood say they’re not surprised to hear a gun was allegedly pulled during a fight in the area.

The altercation happened on Wednesday just after 12 p.m. in the area of Fischer-Hallman Road and Queen’s Boulevard and involved around 20 youths, according to Waterloo regional police.

Police say one of the young people involved brandished a firearm during the incident.

“There’s so many fights here and there’s always weapons getting pulled out and everything,” local teen Logan Bourgon told CTV News.

“We’ve had a few incidents with that kind of stuff around the area,” said Darius Campbell.

Police say no injuries were reported.

Young people who saw the fight describe it as “massive.”

“I just saw a whole bunch of people ganging up,” said Forat Ahmed. “I went and followed them, me and my friends. Then they just started fighting out of nowhere.”

“There was just a massive fight,” Adam Tuka said.

Earlier this week, Acting Police Chief John Goodman talked about concerns with youth crime and weapons during an interview with CTV News.

“I would suggest there has been an increase with youth and weapons. It’s not uncommon, but for sure some of the weapons showing up now are very concerning,” Goodman said. “The firearms are concerning, the knives are concerning, the machetes are concerning, we’ve had bear mace at a school. There’s some significant concerns for us.”

At a plaza in the area, a restaurant server says she often sees fights outside around lunchtime.

“It’s happening all the time, every day,” said Patti Battell, who works at the Halibut House at the Highland Hills Mall Plaza.

Battell says people try to bring in their food, forcing the restaurant to post a sign telling students they can only come inside if they purchase food.

"But I get to the point that I just can't be nice anymore, because they just don’t understand nice, but then they don't understand angry either," Battell said.

Police are still investigating the fight and asking anyone with information to contact them.