Arson, assault, robbery, hate crimes alleged in Monday night youth crime spree

Three malesand two females have been arrested under the Youth Criminal Justice Act following a short crime spree Monday evening, Waterloo regional police say.

Police say the group started off by harassing two passengers on the ION LRT.

During a media roundtable on Tuesday, Chief Bryan Larkin said one member of the group called the other passengersracial slurs, brandished a knife, spat on them and allegedly threatened to kill them. The ION LRT driver called police and the group moved on, Larkin said.

Next, the group set fire to a dumpster behind a Shoppers Drug Mart on Fairway Road near Wilson Avenue, Larkin said. Next, he said the suspects went to a nearby Food Basics and robbed a man at knife-point and spat in his face while using racial slurs.

Larkin said that when he heard about the incident during a morning briefing, he was concerned.

"It poses the question, whose responsibility is this?" Larkin told reporters at a media roundtable. "Yes, we have a responsibility as a police service. But where else have we actually missed opportunities to educate, to address, to build resilience, to build tolerance?"

Larkin said the youth were located following the robbery and arrested.

A sixth member of the group is 11 years old and was released unconditionally. Police did not give the ages of the other young people who were arrested.

The investigation continues, police say.