By Sofia Ammoun
With a week left of the school holidays parents are being urged by WA police to watch their children more closely.
Police cordon off Stratton Street in Hamilton Hill. Photo by Sofia Ammoun
The warning follows an incident involving a seven year old boy who dressed up as a ninja causing police to wrongly shut down a street in Hamilton Hill last week.
Authorities were contacted on Wednesday morning by the child’s next-door neighbour and were told a man wearing a mask and armed with a shotgun, was inside the house.
Police arrived at the scene immediately after being alerted and treated the situation very seriously.
“Dad was at work and I hadn’t seen my big brother Ethan in 3 months so I put on my new ninja mask and sword to show him,” said Xavier Flair.
“There were so many police everywhere ready to shoot me so I had to tell them this is a mistake it’s just a fake ninja mask and sword.”
Xavier’s father Daisy was working at the café across the road from his home when police started blocking off both ends of the street.
“All the customers in the café seemed very concerned so I went and stood out the front trying to see what was going on and it turns out it was because of my son,” he said.
While no charges were laid after the incident police have suggested that parents keep a watchful eye on their children and the activities they do these holidays.
“We do have to deal with a number of incidents occurring during the school holidays due to a lack of adult supervision,” said Constable Bryan Roberts of Murdoch Police station.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics says 10 percent of children will look after themselves and another 11 percent are cared for by older siblings during the school holidays.