Man arrested after N.S. alert warning of firearm was holding garden tool, say RCMP

RCMP say a suspected firearm that led to an emergency alert in Nova Scotia turned out to be a gardening tool, and the man involved has been released without charges.

The Mounties said in a news release that they received multiple calls about a man with a rifle on Barss Corner Road in Parkdale at around 7:30 a.m. today.

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Police say an emergency alert warning of a firearm was issued in the “interest of public safety,” and the 48-year-old man was soon arrested.

However, after investigation and a search of the man’s property in the community about 40 kilometres north of Bridgewater, officers determined that no firearm was involved.

Police say the man had been holding a large gardening tool, which from a distance, could have been mistaken for a firearm.

The release did not specify what type of tool was involved.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2024.