REGIONAL POLICE ARREST TARGET SHOOTER

Today's Waterloo Region Record has this story "Man arrested after shots fired in Wilmot". Now first of all Wilmot is one of our local, rural Townships. During the hunting season I expect that gunshots would be more the norm than the absence of them. This time of year hunting seasons are closed but that in itself is not conclusive for firearms discharge. I live on the edge of Elmira and while walking my dog routinely hear gunshots year round from an outdoor shooting range, namely the Elmira Rod and Gun.

This particular individual was target shooting with a rifle "...in a bush area off Cedar Grove Road, just west of Wilmot line.". Now here is where my confusion comes in. The police themselves confirm that the 25 year old male "...didn't intend any harm.". Further a police officer stated that "...bad decisions and poor judgement were to blame.". O.K. that's all fair enough. Also of note in the story was that the rifle was legally owned and registered to the young man. Considering that registration of firearms isn't required any longer in Canada I must assume that he bought it and registered it at least a few years ago.

So lets consider the facts. This individual was shooting his legally purchased rifle in a rural area on a Sunday afternoon. What I don't know is the exact location of the shooting combined with the backstops he was using behind his targets. Everyone seems to agree there was no criminal intent but possibly some poor judgement. Was this individual on a friend's property with permission or did he just go looking for a wooded area outside of a town or city and start shooting at a tin can for example? He has been charged with three different firearms offenses namely weapons dangerous to the public, unsafe storage of a firearm and careless use of a firearm. I have to assume that these are all criminal offenses and if convicted he is looking at a criminal record and will not be able to own firearm's as a result.

What are the police not telling the public? Are they just laying serious charges for the purpose of looking needed with full knowledge this young fellow is more naive than criminal? Or was his shooting some kind of serious threat to nearby people? Even if it was should he be charged criminally or should he be made to attend (reattend?) a firearms safety course perhaps after a six month or one year timeout? Multiple criminal charges on a young person for alleged stupidity or carelessness seems a little harsh. What exactly is the offense here in this specific situation that is driving our criminal justice system to intercede?