Two days, two reports of guns on transit that turned out to be replicas.
Transit Police say they received reports both of a man who dropped a handgun on the floor of a SkyTrain, and another cleaning a firearm while taking the train eastbound this week.
Both handguns turned out to be fake. But even they can pose a risk to the public, the Transit Police said in a Friday news release.
Coverage of the Transit Police on Globalnews.ca:
The first incident unfolded on Feb. 5 at about 11 a.m., after Transit Police received a text message from a SkyTrain passenger on the Evergreen Extension.
The passenger said a man dropped a handgun on the floor as the train headed toward Coquitlam.
Transit Police and Port Moody police officers met the train at Moody Centre Station and found that the alleged firearm was actually a black, Crosman C11 BB gun. A 41-year-old man was taken into custody.
The second incident unfolded on Feb. 6, at around 8:40 p.m.
At that time, a man was allegedly spotted openly cleaning a handgun on the SkyTrain as it headed east from New Westminster.
Transit Police checked the train at Scott Road Station in Surrey, and found an 18-year-old man with the weapon in question — a black, .177-calibre BB CO2 pistol. The gun was realistic enough that it could have easily been mistaken for a real gun, the release said.
Neither individual was charged, but police cautioned them.
READ MORE: Man taken into custody after dropping replica firearm on SkyTrain platform
Transit Police had yet another run-in with a replica firearm on Feb. 5, though it didn’t happen on a SkyTrain.
This time, they found a black “Beretta” airsoft pistol in the trunk of a vehicle, amid a Transit Police investigation that happened adjacent to Surrey Central SkyTrain station.
Police warned that even fake firearms can look very real, and if people see them, they’re likely to react as if they are.
“All reports involving a firearm require a police response that can put the public, the police and the suspect in danger and create fear and panic in public places,” the release said.
“Replica firearms should not be carried on the transit system.”