‘Incredibly dangerous:’ N.S. man arrested for allegedly shooting at teens on ATVs

A Nova Scotia man is facing firearms charges after three teenagers were allegedly shot at while driving all-terrain vehicles in the Little Dyke area of Colchester County.

In a release, the Nova Scotia RCMP said officers responded to a report of “a man discharging a firearm towards three people on ATVs” near Glenholme Marsh Road around 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

It said three males, aged 18, 16 and 15, had been driving their ATVs in the area when the man exited a home and fired in their direction.

“As the victims were fleeing the area on their ATVs, the man discharged his firearm in their direction a second time,” the release said. “No one was injured during the incident.”

Police secured the area around the home and spoke to the suspect over the phone, who confirmed he was the only person inside. He was asked to exit the home with his hands up, which he did before being arrested.

The suspect was held in custody overnight and is scheduled to appear in Truro Provincial Court Monday, where he faces several firearms charges including discharging a firearm. Police also executed a search warrant at the home where they seized a gun and ammunition.

The suspect cannot be identified as the charges have not yet been laid, but RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Chris Marshall said he is 47.

Marshall noted outside of legal activities like hunting and gun ranges, “there’s no reason to be discharging a firearm.”

“In this circumstance, it’s almost like vigilantism, that someone didn’t like having ATVs near their property and they decided to take matters into their own hands and discharge a firearm, which is wholly inappropriate and incredibly dangerous,” he said.

“Thankfully nobody was hurt during this incident, but … this could have gone very differently. It’s just incredibly dangerous, not just to the people that are directly involved, but anybody else who could have been in the area at the time.”

Police say the investigation is ongoing.