'The level of violence is concerning': Police investigate another youth assault, robbery in Langford
West Shore RCMP arrested a teen who allegedly assaulted and robbed another youth near a Langford high school on Wednesday.
It's the third violent crime to involve a youth in the city in about as many weeks, a trend police are calling "concerning."
Wednesday's alleged robbery occurred around 2:10 p.m. in the 3000-block of Langford Lake Road, just outside of Belmont Secondary School grounds.
Police say the victim, a 15-year-old boy, was using an electronic vaping device when another youth approached him and demanded the device.
The suspect, who is 14 years old, grabbed the device from the victim's hand, at which point the victim tried to take the item back. The suspect then assaulted the victim and pushed him to the ground, police say.
The victim suffered minor injuries and Mounties were called to the scene by a bystander.
Within minutes, police say the suspect was found near Langford Lake. They were arrested for robbery and released on several conditions, including a curfew and a ban on contacting the victim or attending the school and surrounding areas.
"West Shore RCMP has been experiencing an increase in calls related to youth violence in the last month," said Cpl. Nancy Saggar of the West Shore RCMP in a statement Thursday.
"A challenge in these investigations has been getting witnesses and victims to provide their information or to report these crimes immediately," she said.
"The level of violence is concerning, and we are asking the public to report suspicious activity involving youth right away. We are engaged with several community partners providing youth services to both the victims and the suspects as well as their families," said Saggar.
RCMP note that a West Shore RCMP youth liaison officer was at the school before the alleged robbery took place, but had left minutes before it was reported.
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