Three young men are lucky not to be facing charges after an incident with the RCMP and a firearm.
On July 10 at 1:40 a.m., RCMP responded to a call of suspicious persons around a residence at 341 Morice.
Upon arrival, RCMP found three intoxicated males, all approximately 18 or 19 years old.
While two officers were in conversation with two of the young men in the living room, they instructed one of the men to bring his hands out where officers could see them. The young men then pulled what looked like a 9 mm handgun from behind his back.
Both officers then drew their sidearms and instructed the young man to drop the gun.
While it was determined the young man actually held a BB gun, the device was designed to look exactly like a 9 mm handgun, and he was lucky the officers did not mistakenly fire in self-defence.
Staff Sergeant Paul Thalhofer said he hopes the incident will be a lesson to people to think before making similar mistakes.
He gave credit to the members on the scene for the situation not having a more negative outcome. “They showed a lot of restraint,” he said.
All three young men were taken into custody and held until sober, but it was decided the incident should be resolved informally. All of them were given a second chance and released without charge after serious discussions with officers.
One of the young men was from Fort St. James, one was from Takla and one was from Prince George.