A 19-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after police responded to a report of a man with a gun at Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus.
Mounties from several units were called to the 8800-block of University Drive shortly before 2 p.m., including the bike unit, canine unit, air unit, anti-gang unit, and the traffic unit.
“The male was also believed to have been wearing clothing with a police crest, believed to be an RCMP crest,” police said in a news release.
Police evacuated and searched two student residences where the man was last seen, then learned he was in a classroom near the WAC Bennett library.
“When arrested, the man was wearing a ball cap with an RCMP logo on it,” the release said. “A replica firearm was located in a bag allegedly in his possession.”
No charges have been laid yet, police said.
At 4:06 p.m., the university said in a tweet that officials are aware police are on campus and that “everyone is safe and the situation is resolved.” No details were provided on why police were there for anyone who was hearing of the incident for the first time.
The Tweet prompted a backlash online, with students and parents wanting to know why the school hadn’t put out a warning earlier.
why wouldnt you issue a statement of at least caution so the people going through this in real time, or who are in the area, would know what's happening? myself and many others were very anxious and terrified of this situation, please do better in the future
— willow (@willowl17) October 8, 2019
“Would be ideal if we were informed of such incidents as they occur, not after the fact, so we can keep ourselves out of danger, but whatever,” read a Tweet from Mark Liu.
From Tara Ames, who identified herself as a parent: “There are police walking around with rifles drawn and helicopters on site. Most of these students have no idea what is going on and if they are even safe!”
I get that the public can’t always be informed of exactly what’s happening, but a simple warning to maybe stay away from the area is the very least you could’ve done.
— Olivia (@longlivtheboss) October 8, 2019
A request for comment has been made to SFU’s media team.
ALSO READ: Students unhappy with SFU’s response after violent incident in class (Oct. 14, 2018)
On July 14, a man assaulted a 19-year-old woman who’d been walking on a trail north of University Drive and West Campus Road on the Burnaby campus.
Barely two weeks later, on July 26, a man attacked and tried to sexually assault a woman at the UniverCity development, which is near the campus.
