ON December 25 at 6:15 p.m., North Vancouver RCMP received reports of a road rage incident near Lonsdale Avenue and East 13th Street in North Vancouver between two motorists. During the interaction it is alleged one of the passengers in one of the vehicles flashed what appeared to be a handgun during the verbal altercation.

Officers immediately flooded the area and located the suspect vehicle nearby. The occupants of the vehicle were ordered out and an investigation ensued. Officers discovered the rear passenger was in a possession of an airsoft gun which resembled a real gun.

“Frontline officers treated this extremely seriously, following all the protocols in place for responding to incidents involving firearms,” said Constable Mansoor Sahak. “Thankfully, it turned out to be a replica, but at the time, passengers in the other vehicle believed it was real.”

Police say they want to caution youth about the dangers of playing with imitation guns in public places. Replica guns like these are indistinguishable from the real thing. While they may seem harmless, they can cause panic and will elicit a police response.