Police are out with yet another reminder to not have replica guns out in public, after two men prompted a big response in North Vancouver.
The RCMP says officers received reports Monday night that two men had guns near a construction site on Lonsdale Avenue.
When police arrived, the RCMP says “a replica firearm was located on their possession.”
“They had recently purchased the replica firearm and wanted to test it by shooting a carrot in a grassy area,” the North Vancouver RCMP said in a social media post Wednesday.
“Police continue to warn the public about the use of replica firearms in an open setting. While they may seem harmless, they can cause panic and will elicit a police response.”
There has been a series of incidents around the Lower Mainland in recent weeks involving replica firearms.
On April 8, the North Vancouver RCMP arrested a man who was allegedly holding a plastic gun near the city’s library. That came after police received reports that a man had been “manipulating” a gun in the city’s Civic Plaza on West 14th Street.
Police said the suspect in this case was found to be on probation for a previous offence, and had conditions to not possess any imitation firearms or weapons.
On April 6, a bus passenger carrying what turned out to be a fake gun was arrested by West Vancouver police. The person was released pending further investigation after the firearm was found to be a replica.
In March, police in New Westminster seized two replica firearms in one week.