Several 100 Mile House RCMP members responded to reports of an apparent firearm being brandished at 100 Mile FreshCo on Wednesday, May 7.
Sgt. Trevor Medernach, acting detachment commander for the 100 Mile House RCMP, said several of his officers and members of the B.C. Highway Patrol responded to the incident at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Medernach said the incident was reported by 100 Mile Fire Rescue chief Dave Bissat.
"A report was made by the fire chief in town here about a male brandishing a potential firearm. Unknown if it was or it wasn't, but there were obviously safety concerns, so we had a heavy police response down to the FreshCo area," Medernach said.
On arrival at the scene, Medernach said they identified two males and arrested both of them. After investigation, he said officers determined both men had imitation firearms.
"There were no substantiating grounds for criminal charges at this time," Medernach noted.
Medernach said 100 Mile RCMP have responded to a few reports of people walking around with firearms or holding firearms that turned out to be imitation firearms over the last year, specifically butane lighter torches designed to look like handguns. While purchasing a lighter that resembles a firearm is legal, Medernach noted that parts of them can look very realistic, prompting these calls.
"Parts of them are real looking and I can see where the misinterpretation comes from," Medernach said. "Use caution and don't approach them. Assume it is real until (RCMP) identifies it not to be real, that's what we're there for. Give us a call if any firearms are ever seen."
The 100 Mile House RCMP can be reached at 250-395-2456.
