Threats or actions involving replica firearms will trigger the same police response as situations involving real weapons, Ottawa police are warning, after two teenage boys were charged following a weekend “dispute.”
A group of young people were making threats with a knife and with what looked like a firearm in the 200 block of Queen Mary Street on Saturday night, according to the police service.
Police responded to the “dispute” at 8:10 p.m. and arrested four youth. Two were released unconditionally, while a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old boy are now facing unspecified charges, police said in a news release.
Officers also seized seven guns — which police said are “presumed to be paintball and air pistols” — from the home in question after executing a search warrant on Sunday.
This was one of two incidents in which replica firearms “prompted a police response,” according to the police service.
No further details on the second incident were immediately available. A police spokesperson said the investigation is still ongoing.
Police spokesperson Const. Amy Gagnon said replica firearms are “treated the same” as real ones by police if they’re used to intimidate someone or to commit a crime.
“People need to remember that replicas look like real firearms,” Gagnon said.
“If somebody points a firearm, whether it’s a replica or real firearm, the charge would be pointing a firearm. They’re considered real and the charges are the same as if it was a real firearm.”
A suspect using either “represents a danger to public safety,” the police news release added.