A man was arrested on Camosun College’s Lansdowne campus on October 31 for carrying a fake firearm as part of his Halloween costume, college employees and the Saanich police have confirmed.
Camosun College communications/marketing officer Michelle Tinis says the man had a fake gun and was wearing camouflage.
“It was a 28-year-old male and he was on campus in a Halloween costume, but it looked like camo wear. Apparently he did have a fake firearm on him, and that’s why he was arrested. It was a very poor choice in Halloween costume.”
Saanich police have confirmed the man is from Victoria, but it’s not confirmed as of yet if he is a Camosun student or not.
An internal email was sent to Camosun employees saying there had been “a minor incident at Lansdowne campus,” but that there was “no cause for alarm” and drew light on the fact that the campus was never actually put on lockdown. Tinis says Camosun informed the public through Facebook, Twitter, and “other emergency communication tools.”
Saanich Police acting sergeant Jereme Leslie says that what happened on Lansdowne campus was potentially very dangerous.
“Responding to the incident yesterday put many people at possible risk including faculty, staff, students at Camosun, and also the general public, as well as our officers arriving to, possibly, an emergency situation,” says Leslie.
Leslie says the man was in violation of section 88 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which details possession of a weapon or an imitation of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
“So in this particular set of circumstances we felt there was quite a danger to the public,” says Leslie. “Having an individual on campus openly carrying what appears to be a very real firearm, that can cause quite a concern, obviously, and that’s quite dangerous to the public.”
Leslie says the man will appear in court in mid-December.
“We are going to be recommending one charge of having possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose,” says Leslie.