It wasn’t chocolate eggs but rather a replica gun Barrie police found following a call to a north-end plaza on Easter Sunday.
Police say they received a call from a concerned citizen at 2:21 p.m., April 9, reporting they had seen a firearm being displayed out of a vehicle in the city’s north end, confirmed Peter Leon, the force’s communications coordinator.
Responding officers initially detained 18 males upon arriving at the plaza, located at the intersection of Grove and Duckworth streets, he said.
Two men were subsequently taken to police headquarters on Fairview Road and have since been charged with weapons dangerous.
The two men charged, Leon said, currently live in Barrie, but are not permanent residents.
“There were a number of vehicles that were together with the vehicle seen waving the firearm, so in the event there were any other weapons, those individuals would have been removed from their vehicles and detained for investigative purposes," he said. "If they were not involved, they would have then been released at that time."
The 16 other men sat on the pavement with restraints and were initially detained for safety purposes until officers could properly investigate the alleged complaint.
“It becomes an issue of public safety and the safety of the officers until they’re able to make that determination as to if there are any other weapons," Leon said. "We want to make sure that anybody that is being released from custody is not going to be in a position to compromise the safety of the community.”
Leon also credited the citizen for having the courage to call the police.
“Even a replica firearm being displayed is a threat to public safety, he said. "We got the vehicle stopped, we got the individuals located and identified and we’ve been able to continue with the investigation.”
