4 teens charged in airsoft pistol confrontation at Lethbridge mall

It was just another evening with people browsing shops at the mall ahead of school returning, but it ended in panic and fear for many.

Police in Lethbridge say they received multiple 911 calls just after 5:30 p.m. last Friday about a gun being brandished at Park Place Mall.

Police say people took cover under tables, behind structures, shielded their children and fled the area.

In just over one-and-a-half minutes, officers were on scene making an arrest, but it wasn’t what it first seemed.

“We train these things. This is what we get paid to do. When these events unfold, the responsibility on our shoulders is to respond quickly, effectively and in a dynamic fashion,” said Sgt. Ryan Darroch of the LPS downtown police unit.

Four teenage boys, aged 13 to 15, were arrested by the end of the evening.

Officers say it began with two separate pairs of teens moving through the mall prior to a confrontation at the food court.

They say one pair then began pursuing the other and, following a brief foot chase, one of the boys in the second pair produced the weapon, causing panic as witnesses heard clicking from the weapon.

Following the arrests, police determined the weapon was an airsoft pistol, rather than a real firearm.

“Any time we deal with an offender with replica or presented-real firearms, the charges that go along with that are real,” said Darroch.

The airsoft pistol, which looked strikingly like a real firearm from even a close distance, could have twisted this whole situation into something far more dangerous, according to Darroch.

“This is another example of replica firearms being involved in a public space that is going to lead to an officer-involved shooting.

He says officers faced with replica firearms have to make a split-second decision on whether that weapon is real or not.

“Our brothers and sisters in the Calgary Police Service and Edmonton Police Service have been involved in those events with a replica firearm. That hasn’t happened in Lethbridge and we don’t want it to happen.