The Waterloo Regional Police Service responded to a series of violent incidents across the region between March 27 and March 28, 2026, keeping officers busy with multiple investigations involving weapons and robberies.
On the evening of March 27, police were called to the area of Phillip Street and University Avenue West in Waterloo, where they found a 25-year-old man with non-life-threatening stab wounds. Later that night, at approximately 11:20 p.m., a gas station near Jamieson Parkway and Townline Road in Cambridge was robbed by an individual in a ski mask who fled in a vehicle.
The following day, March 28, brought further police activity. In the afternoon, a youth was robbed at knifepoint while biking in Victoria Park in Cambridge. That evening, the police service’s Emergency Response Team was deployed to a home near University Avenue East and Marshall Street in Waterloo to take a 30-year-old man into custody following a domestic dispute involving threats and a knife.
These recent events occur against a backdrop of ongoing challenges for local law enforcement. According to Statistics Canada, the region ranked as having the second-highest crime severity in Ontario in 2023. Police report that the service currently maintains the lowest number of officers relative to the population among large police services in the province, while handling the highest number of incidents per officer.
To address these pressures, the police service is working to add 20 new officers in 2026. While the force has implemented new strategies, such as a stratified policing model aimed at reducing violence, the recent string of incidents highlights the persistent nature of crime in the community. Members of the public with information regarding these ongoing investigations are encouraged to contact police or provide tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers of Waterloo Region.
