Are these guns real? RCMP ask you to spot the difference

The Kelowna RCMP is asking if you can spot the different between real guns and their airsoft counterparts.

Do these look real?

Credit: SUBMITTED / RCMP

What about these rifles?

SUBMITTED / RCMP

Credit: SUBMITTED / RCMP

RCMP said these photos show an airsoft rifle, a BB pistol and a 9mm pistol but point out during a police incident, a high risk encounter or even in bad lighting, it can be almost impossible to tell the difference between the real gun and the fake ones.

Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy, media relations officer with the Kelowna RCMP, said police officers in the city are seeing an increase of incidents involving imitation guns which can trigger a serious response from police.

BB guns, airsoft guns and replica firearms have been found in incidents involving drug trafficking, robbery, traffic enforcement, and "people simply walking down the street with what appears to be a gun in their hand," Noseworthy said in a media release.

“Our officers will treat all these replicas as real until it can be safely proven that they aren’t,” Insp. Dale Somerville, operations officer with the Kelowna RCMP, said in the news release, adding to avoid the police confrontation don't show imitation guns in public.

RCMP are also asking those who sell these types of fake guns to be aware of who they're selling to, and to make sure buyers are aware these items can be mistaken for lethal weapons.


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Carli Berry

Carli Berry has been telling stories in the Okanagan for the past three years and after finding her footing in the newspaper industry, joined the Infonews team in January 2020. Recipient of the 2019 MA Murray award for feature writing, Carli is passionate about stories that involve housing, business and the environment. Born on Vancouver Island, she is happy to say Okanagan Lake reminds, her slightly, of the ocean. Carli can be reached at (250) 864-7494 or email cberry@infonews.ca.