Mounties in Fort St John arrested a man for the possession of a weapon with a dangerous purpose – though after officers seized the weapon, it was determined to be a BB pistol.
According to the RCMP, the incident took place the night of July 17 around 87 Street and 99 Avenue, where a man was reported to police for flashing a pistol at a passerby. When officers arrived at the scene, they said they saw two people- one person appeared intoxicated and matched the suspect’s description.
The man was arrested and police said they located a black pistol on the man that was ultimately determined to be a BB gun.
A Parliamentary Committee on replica firearms found they are being used increasingly by criminals and were the second most frequently used weapons in firearm-related crimes in 2020.
“Thank you to the public who saw something they knew wasn’t right and reported it to police in the interest of public safety,” said Cst. Chad Neustaeter of the Fort St John RCMP.
After being transported to the local detachment, the man was released conditionally with a court date scheduled for November 24.
