Police shut down Highway 1 near Sicamous for false weapons complaint

Mounties closed the Trans-Canada Highway between Sicamous and Salmon Arm for 40 minutes yesterday afternoon for what turned out to be a false firearms complaints. 

A woman called police after driving by the area and noticing a man in the bush pointing what she believed to be a rifle at her vehicle around 2:50 p.m., July 13. Officers from Sicamous and Salmon Arm detachment closed the highway while they sought a suspect, and also got help from the Emergency Response Team which was training not far away, police said in a news release.

"A man matching the suspect’s physical description was located within the containment area and arrested without incident," Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesperson for the RCMP Southeast District, said. "The man, who police determined had been hitchhiking, was not in possession of any firearms upon his arrest. However, further investigation revealed that he had been holding up a metal pipe, which officers believe could have been easily mistaken by a passing motorist as resembling the barrel of a firearm."

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