Nanaimo RCMP say a suspect has been taken into custody after police were called to the 600-block of Comox Road on Monday afternoon.
Officers responding to reports of a masked man entering a building and possibly armed moved quickly to contain the area.
The Vancouver Island Emergency Response Team was called also in.
Police found the suspect around 7 p.m. at the apartment and questioned him but realized nothing criminal had happened.
What is described as a cheap replica rifle was confiscated.
The suspect tells CHEK News he was wearing a Halloween costume when he left the building, changed his mind and went back in to take it off before heading out for dinner. He says he came back to find armed police on the street.
“It was totally innocent on my part, I didn’t mean anything by it,” said Rory Koncar.
“I guess one of the neighbours didn’t see it that way and called it in. It was a little awkward.”
RCMP say the incident is suspected to have been caused by a mental health issue and Koncar admits officers told him he didn’t fully appreciate the seriousness of the incident. He also believes that an earlier bank robbery in the city may have had people on edge.
Officers told him not to carry anything that looks like a weapon.
CHEK News
