A pair of youths in St. Albert got to see what real guns looked like after a Grandin neighbour called RCMP on the weekend to report suspicious people with a rifle in the area.
Police officers arrived behind a Glenhaven Crescent home just before 11 a.m. on Saturday after receiving a call about suspicious males in the area. It turned out two youths were playing with an airsoft gun in a bush area behind the homes.
RCMP Cpl. Laurel Kading said the officers spoke with the youths and their parents and found there was no need to issue any charges.
According to the city’s bylaw, airsoft guns as well as BB guns, slingshots, bows and arrows and gas-powered guns, are all considered firearms and are prohibited within city limits. The only place someone can use these firearms is at a shooting range, a gun club or a similar facility.
Kading said when a report comes in that mentions a firearm, police take the matter seriously.
“The initial call that came in was of a person with a rifle,” she said.
“An airsoft-type gun can look like an actual valid rifle. If that's the information that came in, officers, clearly responding to a firearms complaint, are going to take that seriously and would respond in a way that can protect both the public and the officers themselves.”
This could mean officers may have their weapons drawn when responding, depending on the situation. For this reason, Kading explained police continue to remind the public imitation weapons are not safe because they look so similar to the real thing.
Saturday's incident came days after a male resident was shot in the Lacombe Park neighbourhood. Kading stressed the incident with the youth had nothing to do with that shooting, which took place last Tuesday, and said there is no further danger to anyone in the public.
“We would hope that would be reassuring,” she added. “We're constantly encouraging people to call if they have any concerns. If they see something suspicious, we'd rather check things out than not. People may move to this community ... (and they) may not have researched the bylaws and not know that their kids are going to be violating it as soon as they walk off their property or even within their own property.”
Terra Piedwerbeski, who has lived along Glenhaven Crescent for the past nine years, said she saw the two youths, who she describes as being dressed all in black, in the backyard but wasn’t worried about it. She said she often saw the one 13-year-old boy in the back practising shooting.
“I knew who they were,” she told the Gazette Monday. “I saw them in the backyard. I saw them with their (airsoft) gun practising. I knew it was him right away.”
Piedwerbeski praised the RCMP’s quick response and added she continues to feel safe in the neighbourhood.
Maureen Jackson, a long-time resident of Glenhaven Crescent, said she was a bit nervous to learn armed officers had arrived just outside her home but she continued to believe Grandin was a safe neighbourhood.
“I don't feel any less safe,” she said.
Grandin residents David and Joyce Kidney echoed Jackson's thoughts, adding they believe the police were being extra cautious, especially in the wake of the Lacombe Park shooting. Although their neighbourhood has experienced a few break-and-enters in the past, both agreed the area is safe.
“We used to see kids smoking in this side (alley) here and sort of loitering around and partying,” Joyce said. “We haven't seen that in a long time. (The neighbourhood feels) very safe. This was pretty shocking but (just a blip).”
