Ottawa Citizen

(Has anyone read Lessing's "Memoirs of a Survivor?")

Quebec authorities urged to take steps 'before someone gets killed'

Aaron Sands The Ottawa Citizen

Gripped by their fear of an eight-year-old boy and helpless to do anything about it, residents in the village of Lytton, Que., have called on the province's child welfare agency to take measures "before someone gets killed."

The boy, who shot and critically wounded his neighbour in November, is now being held responsible for a break-in at a summer home last Friday with his friend, a seven-year-old boy.

Police said the children broke in through the garage door of the home on Chemin Montcerf in Lytton, about 150 kilometres north of Ottawa.

Once inside, the kids ruined everything they could get their tiny hands on, according to a neighbour who takes care of the house in the owner's frequent absence. She did not want to be named for fear of retribution.

She said the boys sliced through lawn chairs and floating water toys, and opened cans of green paint and poured the paint over the floor and a boat parked in the garage, on life jackets and a leather coat.

The boys then entered the home and went upstairs. With a hammer and a knife, they destroyed the front door to the home, using so much force the hammer broke.

In the kitchen, they prepared coffee and a spaghetti dinner. They took several bottles of beer out of the fridge and opened them, though it is unclear if they drank any.

Police said the children caused several hundred dollars in damage. Their parents have been asked to pay for the repairs, police said.

Yesterday, the municipal council of Lytton sent a letter to youth protection, urging the agency to take "necessary action" against the eight-year-old and his family in the wake of the latest incident.

Luc Cadieux, director of youth protection for Les centres jeunesse de l'Outaouais, said he is aware of last Friday's incident.

"It happens with so many kids, these little things," he said, referring to the break-and-enter and vandalism. "Everything is being taken care of."

After a three-month assessment of the boy and his family, the agency concluded the boy shot and critically wounded his neighbour, Jean-Guy Roy, 64, without malicious intent.

The morning of Nov. 25, the boy took his father's hunting rifle and a bullet from his family's home. He crept through the woods behind the house to the lot where Mr. Roy was cutting wood. The boy loaded the gun and fired and the bullet struck Mr. Roy in the chest, missing his heart by millimetres.

Mr. Roy remains in hospital. The shooting left him blind and without the use of his left arm.

Mr. Cadieux has urged the community to forgive the child and move on.

The boy remains with his parents. His father was charged with unsafe storage of a firearm. He pleaded guilty and is to be sentenced on June 26.

"Enough is enough," said Lytton Mayor Maurice Roy, brother of the shooting victim. "How much does it take for them to figure out that this kid is trouble?

"Someone needs to do something before someone gets killed."

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), May 10, 2001