IQALUIT - A 13-year-old boy from Kimmirut has pleaded guilty to firing shots from a .303 rifle at the local RCMP detachment living quarters on June 21.

The teenager also pleaded guilty to two other charges: discharging a firearm dangerously into a public place and using a firearm without reasonable precaution for the safety of others.

The accused's father watched from seating in the Nunavut Court of Justice on Friday while Crown prosecutor Elizabeth Miller read the facts of the incident.

According to Miller, the two local RCMP officers were asleep separately inside their living quarters, which are next to the detachment office, when at 5:15 a.m. on June 21 they heard one shot, followed shortly after by three more in a row.

"They thought (they had) heard hunters," said Miller.

It wasn't until the next morning the officers saw a hole in one window and found a bullet lodged in the dresser of one bedroom, said Miller.

Miller said the officers continued to investigate the area and found three shell casings from a rifle on a nearby hill with a view to the detachment. Their investigation led them to the home of the accused, whose father owned the rifle.

"The Crown takes this kind of offence very seriously," said Miller.

Especially so considering the "spate of similar incidents" in a 13-day period from June 8 to June 21, she added.

Most notably, in that period two attempted murder charges were laid. One was against a 20-year-old Iqaluit man on accusations he shot at RCMP officers outside Inuksuk High School on June 19 and another against a 39-year-old Pond Inlet man on accusations he shot at a RCMP officer and his vehicle on June 5.

In addition, RCMP say another shooting incident occurred in Kimmirut earlier this month.

Sentencing for the teenager will be delayed until he has undergone a psychiatric assessment. He will remain in custody until July 23, at which time the court will be provided with an update and readdress the matter.

"I hope the psychiatric assessment doesn't take too long," said defence lawyer Christian Lyons.

He added the boy had originally intended to go out on the land and shoot a goose when he took the gun. Lyons said the rifle is also normally kept under lock and key and, according to Lyons, the boy has not shot it before.