Man waving 'gun' in downtown Trail sent to hospital
By Trail Champion
Reports of a man waving a handgun around in a Trail intersection Tuesday ended in a high risk arrest in the city’s downtown core, according to RCMP Cpl. Dave Johnson.
“On Jan. 21, at 10:54 a.m., the Trail and Greater District RCMP received a call for service reporting a male in the area of Bay Avenue and Victoria Street acting erratically: yelling, waving his hands and pointing a handgun,” Johnson said.
“Witnesses provided a description of the male and his last known direction of travel, which aided in the police immediately locating the 35-year-old male nearby.
“Due to the nature of the call, a high risk arrest was safely conducted and a subsequent search of the male resulted in police locating a rock the shape of a handgun,” Johnson added. “The male had been holding this rock in the same manner as someone holding a pistol which had caused the witnesses reported it as such.”
Johnson said witnesses were suberbly helpful.
“They were absolutely instrumental in a) calling us and b) providing a great description and last known direction of travel,” he said. “Ultimately, it was kind of a best-case scenario.”
The man was taken to an area health facility for mental health assessment, and Johnson said criminal charges are not being recommended in this situation.
