Increasing numbers of incidents involving imitation firearms are causing concern for Saint John police, and the force says it would like to raise public awareness.
Using airsoft guns, BB guns or pellet guns during the commission of an offence, or for a dangerous purpose, can lead to criminal charges, police say.
In a Thursday release, Saint John Police Force said under the Criminal Code of Canada, “an imitation firearm is an object that is found to resemble a firearm and includes a replica firearm.”
The agency recently seized a number of imitation firearms, as seen in the photo below.
Saint John police spokesperson Sean Rocca said in an email the imitation items were seized in separate incidents, but pooled together to “illustrate the various types of imitation firearms that can present as real firearms.”
Rocca said police are not releasing details of each seizure as some incidents involve charges before the court.
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Yet he said police have noticed an increase in calls that involve firearms which are later determined to be imitation firearms.
“Of course, when responding to firearm calls, police respond as if the firearm is real until there is information provided by the caller or evidence to confirm that it is not,” Rocca said.
The Thursday morning release said imitation firearms can cause serious safety issues for the public and police.
Some are “almost indistinguishable from a real firearm, especially from a distance, at quick glance or in high-stress situations,” the release said.
The force asks the public to use imitation firearms responsibly and to not show them in public.
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