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Teen with suspected gun arrested in Port Alberni

RCMP respond to weapons complaint near a residential neighbourhood
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RCMP block the entrance to Coombs Country Candy on the Old Nanaimo Hwy on Tuesday, May 19. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

A 17-year-old youth from Port Alberni has been arrested after being seen carrying a suspected gun near a residential area in the north part of the city.

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Port Alberni RCMP received a call at 4:36 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 that a young man was seen carrying what looked like a shotgun while walking along Old Nanaimo Highway near Aspeden Road, behind Coombs Country Candy.

“A passer-by had seen the man walking then watched as he hid in the nearby bushes,” Port Alberni RCMP media liaison Cpl. Amelia Hayden said.

All available RCMP members responded to the area and the youth was located and detained without incident, Hayden said.

The young man left the bushes when the police arrived, and police recovered a pellet gun that had been hidden in the bushes.

Police also found the youth to be in possession of a controlled substance and in breach of a probation order.

The young man, who cannot be named according to the Canadian Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been released from custody and will appear in court on Sept. 30, 2020.