Crown prosecutors have withdrawn attempted murder charges against a teenager from Kimmirut, Nunavut, who was accused of firing at RCMP officers in the community last week.

Appearing Friday morning in an Iqaluit courtroom, the 13-year-old boy admitted firing at least one shot at the Kimmirut RCMP residence, while officers were sleeping, around 5:15 a.m. ET on June 21.

A bullet from a .303 rifle pierced the house and became lodged in a wooden dresser, court was told.

Two charges of attempted murder were dropped, and the boy pleaded guilty to three lesser, weapons-related charges: mischief, possession of a weapon for dangerous purposes, and careless use of a firearm.

The Youth Criminal Justice Act prohibits identifying the boy.

Went out goose hunting

RCMP told the court they later found a number of shell casings on a hill above the RCMP residence after the incident occurred, and traced the ammunition to a gun owned by the boy's father.

His lawyer said the boy had apparently been up all night, and in the morning he took his father's rifle to go goose hunting.

On his way through the Baffin Island hamlet, he pointed the gun at the RCMP residence, closed his eyes and fired, court was told.

Crown prosecutors have called for the teenager to be sentenced to a period in custody.

The court ordered a pre-sentence report and psychiatric evaluation. The teen will appear in court again July 23.

4th shooting incident involving police

RCMP say the incident marks the fourth time in less than a month that police officers in Nunavut have been in the line of fire:

  • Most recently, a 20-year-old Iqaluit man was charged with attempted murder on accusations he shot at RCMP officers outside Inuksuk High School on June 19.
  • A 39-year-old man in Pond Inlet has also been charged with attempted murder, accused of firing on a local RCMP officer and his vehicle on June 5.
  • Another similar shooting incident occurred in the last month in Kimmirut, RCMP said, but no details were given.

The firearm incidents come over a year and a half after RCMP Const. Douglas Scott, 20, was shot and killed in Kimmirut.

Pingoatuk Kolola is charged with first-degree murder in relation to the November 2007 shooting. His trial is set to begin Nov. 10.