A man is in custody after pointing a replica handgun at two people in an alley near the intersection of Richer Street and Wardlaw Avenue Saturday afternoon.
Dean Schaffler was gathering empty bottles and cans when he knocked on the door of a house he had been to before.
“We know the gentleman who owns that house,” said Schaffler.
“He gives us his bottles all the time.”
After no one immediately answered the door, Schaffler said he began to walk away when a man who he had never seen before began talking to him.
“Some mouthpiece (was) telling us to get the f*** out of here.”
He said the man continued to threaten him and the woman who he was with.
“We started walking away and he walked around the corner with a handgun and mockingly shot us with it.”
Schaffler said he immediately phoned police; another witness said at least seven police cars attended the scene.
According to Staff Sgt. Blake MacLeod, the suspect ended up exiting the residence on his own and was arrested without incident. A replica handgun was seized from the residence.
Schaffler explained he didn’t know whether or not the gun was real at the time, but had to assume the worst.
“I was scared for my life. You never know what certain people are capable of, whether or not they’re at the point of snapping.”
He said this incident won’t stop him from taking a similar route to collect bottles in the future.
“I don’t let goofs like that deter me.”
The investigation is ongoing and the suspect will be appearing before a Judicial Justice of the Peace, via phone, Sunday morning, to face numerous charges.
wpaterson@kelownacapnews.com
