A group of Regina youth are facing assault charges after police say they posed as a teenage boy and took part in the online trend commonly called “Catch a Predator” over the past several months.
As part of the trend, police said the youth would film assaults with the intention to share on social media platforms. In many of those cases, the youth met the adults through a dating app.
In the first instance on April 24, 2024, officers were called to the 2000 block of Wascana Street for a report of a weapons offence, according to a release from the Regina Police Service (RPS).
Officers saw a boy holding a silver piece of pipe in the air, facing a man who was injured. Police said they were able to de-escalate the situation. Two other males were involved in this assault and said the suspects and victim were known to each other, police added.
A 15-year-old boy, a 16-year-old boy, and a 17-year-old boy were charged with aggravated assault.
Then on Oct 12, 2024, a man arranged to meet up with the suspects, who were posing as a 15-year-old boy, through a dating app, according to police.
When the man arrived at the 2200 block of Edward Street, he told police he was assaulted outside the residence by six or seven boys wearing masks, who also took alcohol from him before leaving the scene.
A 13-year-old boy, two 16-year-old boys, and a 14-year-old are facing robbery and assault charges as a result, police said.
Officers were then called to a residence for a report of an assault on Oct. 30, 2024, and found a 20-year-old man suffering from multiple injuries, police said.
The man told officers he arranged to meet with someone on a dating app and was assaulted by a group of males when he arrived at the meeting spot, a park on the 2400 block of Elphinstone Street.
The victim’s vehicle keys were taken, and his phone was smashed, police said. He was then taken to hospital for treatment of his injuries.
In this case, a 13-year-old boy, two 16-year-old boys, a 15-year-old boy, and a 14-year-old boy were charged with robbery and assault.
On Jan. 17, 2025, five boys went into a business on the 1900 block of Albert Street and assaulted a sixth male, according to police. The suspects and victim fled the scene, but police were able to locate two boys and link them to the assault.
Once again, the boys told police they arranged to meet with the sixth male through a dating app.
A 13-year-old boy, a 15-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old boy were charged with assault.
The six teenage boys, who cannot be named in accordance with the Youth Criminal Justice Act, have all made their first appearances in Regina Provincial Court.
Regina police said that “acts of vigilantism,” which are punishing perceived offenders without legal authority, are still crimes, and charges will be laid as a result.
