Young boys charged over city rampage

TWO boys have been charged over a Cairns rampage that allegedly involved throwing cans at people from a rooftop, smashing a car’s windows, threatening a woman, assaulting a security guard and stealing a bicycle.

Police said they found the boys, aged 12 and 13, on a roof in Water St where they had been lobbing cans at pedestrians below.

The pair allegedly fled when told they were under arrest.

Several police units rounded up the boys, who were taken to hospital for a health clearance.

Police allege the boys had earlier run through multiple businesses and created a disturbance, yelling at employees and patrons.

They allegedly threatened a woman outside Cairns Central Shopping Centre about 8am before banging on the windows of a taxi that the woman had entered to escape them.

Police will allege the boys were involved in the wilful damage of a car in Cairns North about 3.30am, when rocks were thrown to smash the windows of a parked station wagon.

A bike was then allegedly stolen from the car.

The 13-year-old boy was also charged over incidents at Raintrees Shopping Centre on October 10 and 15, which included the alleged assault of a security officer and shoppers and theft from a grocery store.

The 13-year-old boy was charged with five counts of common assault, four counts of trespass, and one of committing a public nuisance, obstructing police, unregulated high-risk activity, wilful damage and entering a premises.

The 12-year-old boy was charged with three counts of trespass, obstructing a police officer, entering a premises, committing a public nuisance, unregulated high-risk activities and common assault.