Police investigate 3 Halloween swarmings in east Ottawa

Police in Ottawa are investigating reports of multiple Halloweenswarmings in east Ottawa in which small children were robbed of their candy.

Staff Sgt. Michael Haarbosch said there were at least three robberies reported onTuesday evening: one on Ogilvie Road near NaskapiDrive, a second on Rainsford Avenue, and a third on SarabellaStreet.

In all three incidents, groups of teenagers robbed younger children of their candy,Haarboschsaid.The OgilvieRoad robbery involved a group of between six and eight suspects, he added.

Haarboschwondered why, on a night when youngsters could simply ring a doorbell to get candy, some opted to steal it instead.

"In cases using violence and swarming-style methods to obtain it, it's frustrating," Haarbosch said. "It's maddening,really."

In one of the reported swarmings, the children also had phones stolen, Haarbosch said.

No one was injured in the robberies, Haarbosch said, and police don't believe the three incidents are connected.