Burnaby RCMP have issued a public warning after a pair of recent incidents in which realistic replica handguns were seized.
On Wednesday, Mounties were called to a road rage incident where one driver was allegedly using a gun to threaten another.
Police treated the incident as a real firearms call, stopping the suspect in what they described as a “high-risk arrest.”
After searching the vehicle they discovered a replica firearm.
In another recent incident, police said officers were responding to a group of young men drinking in a Burnaby park when they spotted what appeared to be a handgun on the ground.
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Officers arrested two men for possession of a firearm, before realizing the weapon was actually a BB gun. The two men were released at the scene, but the gun was confiscated.
“I want the public to know calls involving firearms will result in a considerable police response,” said Burnaby RCMP Chief Supt. Deanne Burleigh.
“It can be a BB gun or a replica. Our police officers will treat them as real until they can prove they’re not. I also want to remind parents that imitation firearms are not toys and urge you not to purchase one as a Christmas gift.”
Police are also asking vendors that sell replica weapons to be careful about to whom they sell and to remind buyers that realistic replicas can easily be mistaken for real guns.
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