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Teen charged after people invited online to engage in gun battle at east-end Toronto mall

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with nuisance and mischief charges in connection with an internet hoax investigation.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with nuisance and mischief charges in connection with an internet hoax investigation. Jeremy Cohn / File / Global News

A 17-year-old Toronto boy is facing charges after police allege he invited people through social media to participate in a gun fight at a mall in Toronto’s east end with a cash reward being offered to the winner.

“(The accused) put out a poster calling for a gun fight in the Walmart parking lot of Scarborough Town Centre for tonight … at 6 p.m. He offered a $10,000 reward for the winner who would be the last person left alive,” Const. David Hopkinson told Global News Wednesday afternoon.

Hopkinson said police started receiving multiple reports Tuesday evening of the post.

The boy, who can’t be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested after a social media hoax investigation and charged with mischief interfering with property and being a common nuisance.

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He is scheduled to appear in a Scarborough court Thursday morning.

Extra police officers will be on patrol at Scarborough Town Centre Wednesday evening as a precaution, Hopkinson said.

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