Police have linked Thursday’s bizarre crash with a brazen shooting in Waterloo over the Easter weekend.
On May 16, police released information about a 17-year-old male they were looking for in connection to the shooting, where more than 30 bullets were sprayed into a store in a King Street North plaza.
One person was shot and two others were also hurt. None of those injuries were life-threatening.
Then, on Thursday, police stopped a car whose driver who was allegedly using a cellphone. When police began speaking to him, he allegedly took off before crashing into a light pole at King and River.
He then took off on foot.
Officers and a canine unit searched a nearby wooded area along the Grand River for hours, finding a loaded handgun but no suspect. Police have not confirmed whether the handgun and the suspect are connected.
Around 1:30 a.m. on Friday, the suspect was arrested in Etobicoke. Police say he was involved in both the shooting and the car crash.
The youth is facing more than 20 charges in these two cases, including discharging a firearm with intent to endanger life and aggravated assault.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday. His name is under a publication ban under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
