VicPD arrest youth who allegedly stabbed floor, threatened others with knife

VICTORIA -- A youth was arrested at gunpoint after police were called to a multi-unit residential building in the 400-block of Pandora Avenue on Sunday night.

Officers were called to the building just after midnight after residents of the building reported that a boy was in a hallway of the building with a knife. He was reportedly stabbing the floor and had made threats to others.

Police later learned that the boy was not a resident of the building, but was a guest of someone who lived there. The resident told officers that they became uncomfortable with the boy and asked him to leave, at which point he grabbed a knife from their kitchen and threatened them.

The resident managed to get the boy out of their home and called 911.

When officers arrived, they convinced the youth to put down the knife at gunpoint after he allegedly threatened the officers. Once the suspect was in custody, police learned that he was a youth.

He was held in police custody until he appeared in court.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Victoria police at 250-995-7654 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

Meanwhile, at the same time overnight, VicPD officers were in the midst of another gunpoint arrest.

Officers were called to a temporary housing facility in the 100-block of Gorge Road East for reports of a man having a gun tucked into his belt.

Police arrived at the building and arrested the man. Once he was in custody, police discovered that the item was a replica handgun.

“Replica firearms present risk to those who irresponsibly possess and display them, to officers, and to our community,” said VicPD in a release Monday. “Officers must respond to firearms calls as though these weapons are functional firearms until such time as their investigation has determined that the item is, indeed, a replica firearm.”

The man is now facing recommended charges of breach of a court-ordered condition that prohibited him from owning replica firearms. He has since been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court at a future date.