A neighbourhood in Nanaimo experienced a police lockdown for several hours Monday evening because of a Halloween costume.
Nanaimo RCMP and the Vancouver Island Emergency Response Teams were called to a building in the 600-block of Comox Street at about 5 p.m. after receiving reports of a man seen carrying a long gun and wearing camouflage.
When officers arrived, it was determined that the masked suspect in question was actually just wearing a Halloween costume and carrying a dollar store gun.
No arrests were made, and the man faced no real consequences other than a verbal lashing from RCMP.
“We looked at all the factors, and we can’t teach common sense. He didn’t break any laws, and there wasn’t any ill intent,” Cst. Gary O’Brien told Victoria Buzz.
The person who caused all the commotion has since identified himself on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/rory.koncar/posts/10215534562935669
Rory Koncar recently uploaded a photo of his costume with the caption “My Halloween costume got me into hot water and my toy gun confiscated from the dollar store”.
In a later post he defends his choices, arguing that “It was a Halloween costume…not like I was the one that robbed a bank in the north end today,” referring to an earlier bank robbery in the city.
On the other hand, the RCMP advises people to be mindful of what they wear. “If you’ve got something that looks like a weapon, we’re going to assume it is, so please use some common sense,” Cst. O’Brien reminds the public.
