RCMP won’t be pursuing criminal charges against a youth who gained access to the Houston Shopping Centre roof only to seriously injure himself by falling through a skylight to the hard-surface floor nearly 20 feet below.
“Due to the seriousness of his injuries we’re using our discretion,” said Sergeant Ryan Fillmore, the commanding officer of the Houston RCMP detachment. “The guardians have offered to pay the mall for the damages.”
Those charges could have been criminal trespass and mischief.
“This had the potential to be far more serious,” Fillmore said of the incident.
The youth suffered cuts and other injuries that while serious, were not considered life-threatening in the incident which took place around 2 a.m. April 10.
He was taken by ambulance to Bulkley Valley District Hospital in Smithers and has since been released to recover at home.
Fillmore said the youth was part of a group of adolescents who climbed onto the roof using large trash and other receptables as climbing platforms. The friends waited at the scene for paramedics after the call went in for assistance.
Police are now talking to the mall’s owners about measures to prevent unauthorized people from easily gaining access to the roof.
Fillmore said the detachment received a second report several days later of people being on the mall roof and throwing material onto the parking lot but that by the time officers arrived, they were no longer there.