Saskatoon teens face variety of charges after Monday night melee in Hampton neighbourhood

The woman remembers loud profanity and an imitation pistol.

It was around 9 p.m. CST Monday in Saskatoon's Hampton neighbourhood. The woman, who CBC agreed not to identify, lives near where Junor Avenue enters the north-end subdivision.

"These kids were, I would say, in their mid teens and they were just aggressive enough to make me watch them out by the bus stop," she said.

The teens were milling around a nearby retail strip. One had an imitation handgun, pointing it at cars passing by, she said. A fight broke out in the group and someone called police.

"Arriving officers observed the large group of youth surrounding an injured male youth on the ground," police said in a new release.

"The large group of youth refused to comply with police commands to clear the area for officers to render aid to the injured youth. As officers proceeded forward to clear the group from the area, an imitation firearm was located on one of their persons. While officers were seizing this weapon, a youth female advanced toward one of the officers. Upon attempting to effect her arrest, multiple other youth began assaulting the two police officers."

The woman said she watched as one officer, kneeling and keeping his back to his cruiser, used his own body to shield the injured teen.

"This group of kids were kind of surrounding him … it was not a good situation at all," she said.

"And then it was just police cars everywhere. His backup arrived."

Two 15-year-old males and two females, ages 14 and 15, were arrested and are facing a combination of charges relating to public intoxication, obstructing police, theft under $5000 and assaulting police officers.

Police say the two officers that were assaulted sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The 15-year-old injured youth was taken to hospital and is expected to be all right.

Police are still investigating.