RCMP send warning regarding handling gifts such as paintball guns
By Contributor
Last month, the report of two males wearing all camouflage gear and carrying a rifle in Port Coquitlam met with a robust police response. It also prompted a lockdown at a nearby school. The males were tracked down moments later, the rifle was located and seized, and it turned out to be a paintball rifle.
While there is nothing illegal about having a paintball rifle, carrying it ‘as is’ on the street is a very dangerous thing to do, said Cpl. Jamie Chung. Some paintball guns are very realistic looking. Even well-trained police officers who encounter someone carrying it on the street have a hard time telling if the gun is real of not.
Because paintball rifles are often indistinguishable from the real thing, police have little choice but to assume the rifle is real and respond appropriately as they need to maintain public safety by dealing with the situation safely and quickly.
RCMP are reminding residents when buying a paintball rifle as a gift for someone or yourself this holiday season; make sure common sense goes with it – such as not to carry it on the street without putting it inside a suitably sized carrying case.
