Fake guns can have real consequences.
That’s the message the North Vancouver RCMP is spreading after an airsoft pistol turned up during a recent domestic dispute.
No one was injured but there was a tense moment when an officer spotted an airsoft pistol that looked like a real gun within reach of a resident at the home.
The situation underlined the dangers of firearms and realistic looking firearms, noted North Vancouver RCMP spokesman Cpl. Richard De Jong.
“Any time a gun – whether it’s real or not – is brought into a public (area), police are going to perceive that to be real,” he said.
The problem is more acute in the summer when kids tend to take pellet guns outside, according to De Jong.
While police would prefer BB, airsoft, and pellet guns are kept safe at home, De Jong emphasized the need to co-operate with police if those toys are brought outside.
If suspects co-operate the situation should end peacefully.
“If somebody isn’t compliant then of course we will use whatever force is necessary,” he said.
While the fake guns are legal, firing them is banned across the North Shore.
Discharging any kind of firearm in the districts of North and West Vancouver can carry a $2,000 fine.
The City of North Vancouver’s firearm ban, instituted in 1963, carries a fine of $100.
The only exceptions are for licensed officers and military funerals.
