Guns drawn at Wakefield community centre
Minor with airsoft pistol arrested
Police arrested a 13-year-old who allegedly brandished an airsoft pistol and threatened another minor at the Centre Wakefield La Pêche over the weekend.
MRC des Collines Police Sgt. Martin Fournel said the youth brandished a replica Beretta and threatened another minor in an attempt to steal their bicycle on the evening of Nov. 7.
Unofficial sources confirmed the boy’s age to The Low Down.
Officers arrived on scene after the report of a gun at the community centre came in around 8:30 p.m. and located the suspect and three other minors in the playground on the other side of the community centre. The suspect admitted to having the gun, so the officers drew their guns, ordered all four youths to lay on the ground and handcuffed them.
“You have the information that someone was threatened with a firearm and the individual said, ‘I do have the gun on me.’ [Officers] are going to draw their guns. You’re not going to take a chance,” Fournel said about the officer’s response.
“You can’t take for granted that there’s only one weapon … You need to secure the area,” he added, when asked about the other three youth who were ordered to the ground and detained in handcuffs.
Officers found the airsoft gun – which uses springs or compressed air to fire plastic BBs – and BBs on the suspect, and confiscated the gun. Fournel wouldn’t confirm if the gun was loaded, but said there were no reports of injuries.
“They got the [suspect’s] information and called the parents on the spot and asked them to come get their kid. Which they did,” Fournel said.
The suspect was released at the scene.
“The file will be submitted to the Crown prosecutor [who would lay charges],” Fournel said.
The young suspect faces possible charges of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon and armed robbery.
“The criminal code doesn’t make a difference between an airsoft and a real weapon, so it’s not a joke,” Fournel said.