Update Friday, June 15 at 4:15 p.m: The RCMP has issued a media release to confirm that the male “posed no risk to the public” and the “possible weapon ... to be a pellet gun.” The RCMP also “would like to remind the public that replica guns or items which could be perceived as real can cause concerns and trigger a full police response.”
Update Friday, June 15 at 9:52 a.m: The Ubyssey was able to contact the male, who confirmed the update and said that the incident was a “big misunderstanding.” He said there was no malicious intent — the airsoft gun was only for fun and he took it out in the Nest to check its pellets.
Update Friday, June 15 at 9:18 a.m: Friends of the described male reached out to The Ubyssey late yesterday evening, saying that he was a high school student carrying an airsoft gun and that he has contacted the RCMP to resolve the situation at approximately midnight. Currently, the RCMP has not responded to multiple requests for confirmation, but has taken down the media release.
Following a post about a man with a firearm in the Nest, University RCMP is attempting to locate a “suspicious male” sighted in the vicinity.
“Have a friend who allegedly saw the person remove a handgun from a bag and then proceeded to check the clip and put it back in,” reads Reddit user luongotv’s post, which was published at 1:32 p.m on the r/UBC subreddit. “RCMP have been called and are on the scene.”
When RCMP responded to the incident, the man was gone. RCMP Sergeant Eric Baskette was not able to confirm whether or not this man is the one identified in the Reddit post, or if he was armed.
As of 3 p.m., the Nest appeared calm and the RCMP were no longer present at the scene.
The man in question was sighted on the fourth floor of the Nest and is described by the RCMP as having brown short hair, light complexion and being “5’ 8 tall, with a medium to heavy-set build.”
He was wearing a “[denim] short-sleeved shirt with a black shirt underneath with a pink or orange design on it,” and “khaki-coloured pants.” He was also carrying a “dark green back pack.”
Baskette said he was not able to comment beyond the details provided in the release.
The RCMP is asking the male or anyone who might be aware of his identity to contact them at 604-224-1322.