Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Liard (Nov 01/02) - Six young adults who apparently took the law into their own hands will be facing charges in territorial court.

A young man allegedly harassed one or two of the teens on Wednesday, Oct. 23, according to RCMP Cpl. Craig Seafoot. About 11:30 p.m. that night, the teens reportedly jumped the young adult behind the old hamlet office.

"They literally took sticks and metal rods and kicked and punched the adult," Seafoot said.

A passerby heard the altercation and chased off the youths. The young adult made his way home that night, Seafoot said, but reported to the nursing station for aid the next day. That's when police were notified.

"(The nurses) basically had to sew his ear on," said Seafoot, adding that the man also had a hairline fracture to his hand and suffered severe bruising.

Each of the youths, all males ages 13-17, are being charged with assault causing bodily harm.

The young adult, police said, is facing two charges of assault and one charge of uttering threats due to his alleged actions earlier that day.

Everyone involved in the incident is scheduled to appear in territorial court on Dec. 18.

Seafoot said the incident occurred a few days after he gave an anti-violence presentation at the school. The community's youth centre has been shut down due to vandalism and assaults that occurred there.

"Obviously they didn't get the message about violence," said Seafoot, who added the teens should have contacted the police instead of seeking revenge.

"It was more like a vigilante group than anything else," he said.