Police break up 'aggressive' group of more than 100 youth in Saanich over the weekend

Police in Saanich, B.C., are investigating after officers were called about a large outdoor gathering of youth over the weekend on Carey Road.

Police said in a release that they initially received a call around 11 p.m. PT Friday about a group of 20 to 30 people making noise behind Northridge Elementary school, but soon received multiple reports that the group had moved into the streets and grown to more than 100 people. 

Police say the group was "verbally aggressive and attempting to damage property on homes.

"They [officers] began to speak to some of them and then learned that there had been weapons involved, including a baton and potentially a knife," said Const. Markus Anastasiades in a statement. 

Anastasiades says police tried to locate the suspects with the weapons, but the group broke up and left the area. 

Police are asking any of the nearby residents to provide information about what they saw to help with the investigation.

What can police do?

Anastasiades said police have few powers to deal with large gatherings of people who may not be abiding by provincial guidelines to physically distance.

"I think we don't have the power, we have no guidelines from the province to enforce anything other than the quarantine act for people that are not abiding by their quarantine guidelines upon returning from travel," he said.

However, Anastasiades says police can respond to a disturbance or a violation of the district's 24-hour noise bylaw. He encourages residents to call the police in those cases.