Four teenage boys armed with toy cap guns were detained after police investigated a weapons complaint on Monday night.
On July 8, just after 8 p.m., Kelowna RCMP received a call, reporting a teenager in possession of what appeared to be a handgun, while walking with a group of teenagers along Yates Road.
“RCMP take firearms complaints seriously, due to the potential threat to public and police safety. It can be a pellet gun or a replica firearm, but our police officers will treat them as real until they can prove they are not,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey of the Kelowna RCMP.
“Even under ideal conditions, it can be challenging for police to determine if a gun is real or fake.”
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The complaint elicited a full precautionary police response, resulting in multiple officers responding to the incident.
The four tennagers, spotted near Dallas and Ballou Road, were takin in and later released unconditionally without any charges; but not before officers had a discussion with the teens regarding imitation guns and contacted their parents and guardians.
RCMP offered a few tips when playing with replica weapons, such as: do not play with them in public, do not point them at another person, for parents to set rules for children who are using them and to keep them securing to prevent accidents.
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