A Labour Day party in Simcoe came to an abrupt end after a neighbour became collateral damage during a squirt gun fight.

Wendy Washik says she was having fun playing with a ten-year-old during a block party before her life was turned upside down.

“I was pumping the water in the gun, trying to figure out the gun and trying to spray him at the same time. Unfortunately, while I was doing that I hit the neighbour that was maybe three feet away from me. He was out cutting his grass and the water hit his chest,” she recalled to CHCH News.

“I was apologizing over and over and over again, because it was not intentional to hit him with the water.”

Despite her apology, officers from the Norfolk County OPP detachment arrived on scene and charged Washik with assault with a weapon.

Washik says the charge has caused her to be suspended from her job as an educational assistant at a nearby school.

“It’s been awful. I’ve kept myself up too many nights not sleeping, crying myself to sleep,” Washik said.

In a release, the force says it determined that two individuals were involved in a dispute, “resulting in the victim being physically assaulted. No injuries were reported.”

The report from the department made no mention of the weapon, and when asked for further details on the matter, it said that “details of the weapon are not generally shared with the public.”

A GoFundMe which was launched in an effort to raise funds for Washik’s lawyer fees recounts the officers decision to press charges as a result of them being “young” and “incompetent.”

However, the OPP responded by saying it takes pride in its “professionalism and thoroughness.”

“We were never interviewed. We were never asked one single question and I was told to come out to the police car and [that] I was being charged with assault,” Washik said.

Washik is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 24.

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