Youth charged after rocks allegedly thrown from Moose Jaw train bridge

The Moose Jaw Police Service has made an arrest in connection with ongoing incidents of rocks being thrown from the train bridge over Manitoba Street East, causing property damage.

Police received a report Wednesday afternoon that a vehicle’s window had been shattered while the vehicle was driving under the bridge. When officers arrived, they saw a group of young people leaving the area.

According to police, officers spoke with the group and, as a result, one youth was arrested. The youth has been charged with mischief in connection with the incident.

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Police said officers are investigating whether the incident is connected to previously reported rock-throwing incidents.

Moose Jaw homeowner frustrated by rocks thrown from rail bridge

A dent at the back of Emma Marasse’s car is the latest item she’s jotted down on her repair list at her home in Moose Jaw.

The property owner said her house has been targeted by vandals who have been throwing stones from the Fairford Street East railway bridge.

Emma Marasse displays a stone she says was thrown at her property in Moose Jaw. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

“It’s not a harmless prank anymore,” Marasse said. “People could be seriously injured. It’s costing people money to have these things fixed.”

Marasse said her property was first damaged when a rock went through the rear window of her car in March.

She said she heard a thump in the night two weeks later, but believed it was snow falling from the side of the house. When she got up the following day, Marasse said she found that a stone had shattered one of the stained-glass window panes on her home’s main level.

“We didn’t discover it until the next morning, and there was a rock lying in the middle of the floor,” she said.

“If I had been sitting there doing my crafts, that would have nailed me in the head.”

Marasse said she doesn’t want to file an insurance claim until suspects are caught. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

The rock-throwing incidents have happened on and off for months, Marasse said, resulting in three broken windows at her house, chipped siding, a smashed rear window on her car, a cracked rear-view mirror and a damaged motorcycle.

“We’re actually reluctant to get the windows fixed because if it happens again, I’m going to have to pay another deductible,” she said. “Then it’s that spiral effect. Everything’s going to go up.”

Marasse said she’s also concerned about drivers and pedestrians being hurt by people throwing stones.

Emma Marasse walks around her home, pointing out chipped siding after she said a rock was hurled over the Halloween weekend. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

She said one of her friends had the front window of their vehicle shattered by a rock while they were driving under the railway bridge.

“Not only is the scare of that enough to cause an accident, but that car could then hurt somebody else,” she said.

“It’s a ripple effect.”

Moose Jaw police believe suspects are kids

Marasse said she’s filed eight police reports with Moose Jaw Police Service about the vandalism over the past several months.

Police sergeant Shawn Mohle said there have been 13 reports about people tossing stones at vehicles and property in the past eight weeks.

Many of the incidents are believed to have occurred at the Fairford Street East and Manitoba Street East railway bridges.

The Fairford Street East railway bridge in Moose Jaw is directly south of Emma Marasse’s home. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Nobody has been injured, but Mohle said that could easily change if the rock throwing continues, “which is a significant safety risk for our motorists and can cause serious damage and/or injury to people that are driving and may lose control of a vehicle after an incident like that.”

Mohle said the investigation has led the police force to look for two youth suspects.

Marasse said she’s kept her ears open for any strange noises that have come from outside, and said she has seen kids running away from the train tracks.

Emma Marasse said she’s found stones from the railway all over her yard and on the street. One rock remains wedged between two panes of glass. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

“It’s not something that can continue,” she said.

Mohle said police are doing more patrols and have deployed drones in the area where the vandalism occurred.

He said investigators are also looking through doorbell camera and security footage in an effort to identify the suspects.