Replica gun sparks suburban mayhem
HEAVILY armed officers swarmed on a suburban street forcing it into lockdown after a man was seen allegedly brandishing a fake gun while driving through city streets.
Frightened residents who were confronted with the man driving with the replica firearm alerted police, an occurrence officers say is becoming more frequent.
It will be alleged the man was spotted driving a blue Commodore along The Strand waving a firearm out of the window just after 7am on Thursday.
Further reports suggested the man had been allegedly driving along Ingham Rd waving the weapon at passing cars.
Officers tracked the man to a Lonerganne St property in Garbutt, forcing the suburban street into lockdown.
Heavily armed police filled the surrounding streets and an exclusion zone was declared as negotiators were sent in.
Resident Amanda Hall said she was getting her children breakfast when she noticed a commotion in the street, and suddenly it was filled with police.
“Police cars were coming from everywhere, they had the street blocked off,” she said. “Once we saw the armed tactical response unit … we definitely knew it was a serious situation.”
Townsville Police Inspector Glenn Doyle said the man was willing to give himself up after negotiations began.
Replica firearms appeared to be an emerging issue in Townsville, according to police. Although the weapon seized yesterday was not a gel blaster, the controversial weapon has prompted major police responses in recent months.
“Unfortunately we are seeing more replica firearms that members of the public are confusing for real firearms,” Insp Doyle said.
“It’s a concern, and we would really ask members of the public who own these weapons to manage them properly.
“Firstly toy weapons where members of the public can see them, for all intents and purposes they look real. There’s certainly the potential to alarm members of the public.
“Obviously there’s a large amount of concern in the environment we live in today whenever we see somebody armed with a weapon unfortunately we tend to think the worst.”
Insp Doyle said mass police resources were tasked to the incident and praised all involved.
A 59-year-old Garbutt man was charged with going armed so as to cause fear and is due to appear in Townsville Magistrates Court today.