A Fort Providence man accused of shooting a young girl with a pellet gun as she played at a community playground made a brief video appearance in a Yellowknife court Wednesday.
Logan Causa, 18, faces a total of 10 charges, including pointing a firearm and causing bodily harm by criminal negligence, after he was arrested and charged in the fall.
On Oct. 13, it’s alleged Causa used a pellet gun to shoot -- from his window- - in the direction of two young girls playing at a playground beside the accused’s home in Fort Providence.
According to Crown prosecutor Martine Sirois, one of the girls, aged 11, was struck in the leg with a ricocheted pellet. A 10-year-old girl's boot was hit with a pellet that bounced off bars located in the playground, according to the prosecutor.
The 11-year-old girl was treated for injuries at the community’s health centre, said Sirois.
Causa has elected to be tried by a judge and jury in NWT Supreme Court.
The Crown isn’t alleging a motive behind the offence this time, but Causa’s lawyer, Tu Pham, told News/North “the allegations suggest the accused is not a danger to the public.”
Rather, said Pham, the allegations suggest a “prank gone wrong.”
Causa has accessed his right to a preliminary inquiry -- a hearing that tests the strength of the Crown’s case -- which is set for February.
In the meantime, prosecutors are waiting to receive an expert report as to whether or not the pellet gun allegedly used by Causa is deemed a firearm. The gun uses compressed air to launch the pellets at high speeds.
The Crown’s position is that due to the velocity at which the gun shoots pellets -- reaching over 500 feet per second -- it constitutes a firearm designation.
The expert opinion is due before the preliminary inquiry begins on Feb. 27. The Crown expects to call a number of civilian witnesses during the hearing.