A teenager shooting an air rifle for fun on Monteith Road resulted in an unexpected and heavily armed reaction from Richmond RCMP Saturday evening in the quiet farmland neighbourhood near Steveston.
At around 6 p.m. the Air One helicopter could be seen circling a home currently under construction on Monteith, near the corner of Moncton Street and No. 2 Road, after a call was made to police complaining about loud, gunshot-like noises.
The RCMP K-9 Unit was deployed to the scene along with several police vehicles.
When the Richmond News arrived on the scene one police cruiser was parked on a side street behind houses fronting No. 2 Road while another five cruisers and two police SUVs were parked along Monteith. More police vehicles could be spotted further down the road on the other side of its divider.
From a distance one dog was spotted jumping over a yellow construction fence to enter the property along with officers in body armour, brandishing assault rifles. Minutes later the officers exited the property and shook hands with one another.
“A search of the area was conducted… however, no youth or gun was located. Investigators were able to determine a possible suspect and did speak with the youth and parents associated to the incident. The youth admitted to using an air rifle to do target practice. The youth was warned regarding proper firearms handling by police,” stated Richmond RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Stephanie Ashton via email on Tuesday.
Ashton said police treat reports involving guns “very seriously” and those considering using air rifles need to consider how their actions will be perceived by the public.
-Story updated Tuesday, July 22
@WestcoastWood
