by KGW.com Staff
Posted
on December 28, 2012 at 5:13 PM
Updated Saturday, Dec 29 at 1:29 PM
VANCOUVER – Two people were arrested Friday after pointing an Airsoft gun,
which led to the lockdown of a nearby department store.
Vancouver Police Commander Dave King said the three unidentified suspects
had bought the [airsoft] gun and removed an orange safety tip. The nearby J.C.
Penny store on Southeast Mill Plain was locked down after someone reported
seeing the [airsoft] gun being brandished.
One of the suspects put the [airsoft] gun in a trash can as police were
arriving. No one was hurt.
A 27-year-old man and 21-year-old woman were arrested on outstanding
warrants, according to King. A third man was not arrested.
Three people who were allegedly pointing an Airsoft gun at cars prompted the
temporary lockdown of an east Vancouver department store Friday.
The call was reported around 12:40 p.m. at the J.C. Penney at 19005 S.E.
Mill Plain Blvd.
Police responded after someone called 911 to report a group of people with a
weapon in a car, said Vancouver police Cmdr. Dave King.
The store was placed in lockdown. Police arrived and found the Airsoft gun
was placed in a trash can and three suspects were attempting to blend into the
crowd, King said.
The group had purchased the [airsoft] gun less than an hour before the
incident and removed the orange tip that identified the [airsoft] gun as a toy,
King said.
Two of the three people, a 27-year-old man and 21-year-old woman, were
arrested on outstanding warrants. The third suspect, a 42 year-old male, also
had an outstanding warrant but was not arrested because it was
non-extraditable, King said.
Police are attempting to see if the [airsoft] gun was pointed at any
individuals to support potential brandishing charges.
“It’s not against the law to possess an Airsoft weapon,” King said. It is
against the law to point anything at someone that appears like a weapon and
causes alarm, he said.
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This is an idiotic move to make. We must all practice airsoft safety, especially in the public.
