It was a wild weekend for the North Bay Police Service (NBPS).
“The weekend has been difficult for all of our members, all of our dispatchers, our special constables and other emergency service workers in North Bay,” NBPS Chief Scott Tod told media on Monday afternoon. “I have never seen a weekend like this one.”
On Friday, police responded to an apartment fire on Ferguson Street where one person was arrested on arson charges. No serious injuries were suffered.
On Saturday afternoon, police were present for an anti-lockdown rally at the North Bay Waterfront. Tod says an investigation into the gathering continues.
Later on Saturday, police responded to a home on Lakeshore Drive where one person was found dead. A 21-year-old man was arrested as part of the homicide investigation.
It’s the second homicide investigation police have opened in less than three months. The last homicide investigation before this year was in 2018, Tod confirmed.
At 1 am Sunday morning, police responded to a snowmobile crash in North Bay where a 57-year-old man died of his injuries.
Later Sunday morning, officers responded to a fire on Second Avenue where an adult male was taken into custody.
On Sunday afternoon, there was a major collision on Algonquin Avenue and Airport Road, which is being investigated by the OPP.
Early Monday morning, police responded to reports of gunfire on Morin Street. Two people were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds and are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police are still searching for a potential suspect.
Tod says on Saturday alone, police received 108 calls for service over a 24-hour period.
“I’m sure there’s public fear. I can assure the public that these incidents are isolated and unrelated to each other,” Tod said. “There’s no direct relationship between the weapons used, the criminals involved or the incidents that have happened in the community.”
This comes as police are also assisting in the city’s mass vaccination site at Memorial Gardens; however, Tod is not worried about any strain on police resources.
“We believe the North Bay Police Service currently has a compliment that’s appropriate to the workload in which we respond to,” he said.
Investigations continue into all of the weekend incidents.
