Ottawa Police’s Guns and Gangs Unit were called to Crystal Beach early yesterday morning after a deer was found shot in the leg. The animal was taken to a vet with non-life threatening injuries, but would not provide police details with the attack, his injury, or even his identity.
“We see these cases a lot during this season” says Detective Annie Baron, who leads the Guns and Gangs Unit, “Deer, usually young males, fight for territory in the Greenbelt, and occasionally it boils over into a shooting. The most frustrating part is that they refuse to communicate with us. It’s one of the rules on the streets: If you’re a deer, you don’t talk to cops.”
This has been the ninth shooting of this nature of 2015, and police expect this number to go up in the coming months. “It’s a different world in there” Detective Baron sighs, “Respect and violence are king, and the best we can do is find a way to reach these young males before they fall into these crowds. It’s an ongoing process, but it’s one we are committed to.”