Just before 2:00 p.m., on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, Queens District RCMP responded to a gun-related call near East Wiltshire Intermediate School in Cornwall.
RCMP officers received information from three students that they were approached by a adult male while walking on Kingston Road, near the school. An altercation occurred between the adult male and the students, which ended in the adult threatening the students and producing what the students believed was a handgun.
Queens District officers located the vehicle a short time later on Route#1 in Cornwall. Police performed a "high risk vehicle stop" and apprehended two men in the suspect car. Two pellet handguns were located within reach of the occupants, and a third pellet rifle in the trunk.
The investigation into this incident continued through the evening, and as a result, one 18 year-old man from the Cornwall area was released with strict conditions and will be attending court later this month to answer to charges of Uttering Threats and various gun-related charges.
The RCMP has been working with school officials, and the families to build awareness around this serious incident. The message to those involved and to the general public is that imitation guns can pose serious safety issues and can create fear and panic if used in public places outside of the intended use. Imitation guns are VERY detailed and indistinguishable from a real gun. If it looks like a gun, it is treated like a gun by police and the explanation of it being "fake" might come too late. Even in clear daylight, without the chaos of a potential threat, it is often impossible to tell if the gun is real or fake.
PEI RCMP Cpl Gunn holds two "imitation" guns seized, post threat.