Burnaby RCMP were called to Metrotown on Monday after reports of a man with a gun.
Security called in the report of an armed man in a stairwell near the Real Canadian Superstore shortly before 4 p.m., according to police.
The call initiated a large police response, with witnesses reporting up to a dozen police cruisers on the scene.
RCMP said a 47-year-old man who was known to police was arrested without incident.
It remains unclear whether a weapon was found at the scene.