An incident this weekend once again highlighted the serious concerns surrounding imitation firearms being carried, brandished or used in public spaces.
On Saturday morning, May 15, 2021, front line Kelowna RCMP officers were on routine foot patrol when they encountered a man with what appeared to be a gun in his possession. After a discussion with the officers, the man agreed to consent to allow police to seize and destroy what turned out to be an airsoft rifle.
Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy, spokesperson for the Kelowna RCMP says, “you may be wondering… Why an airsoft rifle would be a concern to police?” The following photograph shows two rifles, and according to Cpl. Noseworthy, “one is real and one is a fake. The upper phot is a real carbine rifle, while the bottom photo was taken of the airsoft rifle seized from the man over the weekend.”
BB guns, airsoft guns and replica firearms that have the appearance of a real gun are showing up more and more frequently in our communities. These realistic weapons can all trigger a very serious response from police.
“Our front line police officers will treat all guns as real until it can be safely proven that they aren’t,” adds Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy of the Kelowna RCMP. “Imitation firearms need to be dealt with responsibly.”