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Callers reporting guns kept Regina Police Service (RPS) officers busy on Thursday, despite the fact that in two of the cases the firearm turned out to be a lighter designed to look like a gun.
Deputy Chief of Police Laurel Marshall said in a news release on May 22 that firearms calls use significant police resources.
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“Any time officers are dispatched to a report of a firearm, additional safety measures and responses must be considered,” Marshall said. “All calls must be treated as though the firearms are real, even if they turn out to be imitation.”
RPS said in the news release that in the first report, around 10 a.m. on May 21, a number of people reported a man walking near Arcola Avenue and Winnipeg Street carrying what appeared to be long gun.
Police said the man was found in a park in the 1700 block of 11th Avenue, and officers seized a rifle-style pellet gun. A 23-year-old man has been charged with possession of a weapon and is scheduled to appear in Regina Provincial Court on June 24.
Then, around lunch time, officers were called to a business in the 4200 block of East Buckingham Drive after reports of a man with a firearm.
Tactical Response Team members were among the police that responded to the call and RPS said a nearby school was briefly locked down a a precaution.
The man was arrested and in a search police said they found three knives and a lighter which was designed to look like a gun.
A 33-year-old man has been charged with possession of a weapon and failing to comply with a probation order and is also scheduled to appear in Regina Provincial Court on June 24.
Also around lunchtime, RPS said officers received a call about a man and a woman sitting outside in the 3500 block of Dewdney Avenue, with the man reported to be holding a gun.
Police said the pair was taken into custody and officers found a lighter designed to appear like handgun along with a bag containing ammunition for a shotgun.
The woman was released without charges, but a 19-year-old man was charged with failing to to comply with a disposition He is scheduled to appear in Regina Provincial Court on June 26.
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