Police this week issued a warning about carrying anything that resembles a firearm after an incident that occurred near Howe Sound Secondary School.

On Monday (Feb. 25) at around 7 p.m., Squamish RCMP received a report of a male carrying what appeared to be a rifle, walking along Buckley Avenue near the skate park, RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride wrote in a statement.

Officers attended along with a police service dog, and a 23-year-old Squamish man matching the description given was located at the skate park. Police also found a pellet rifle wrapped in a jacket in the bushes nearby. The man was questioned and confirmed to be the person seen earlier with a gun, but no charges are being pursued, Pride said.

Because of the incident’s proximity to the school, where an evening sporting event was taking place, officers went to the school and advised those in attendance to remain inside the school until the male was located “as a precaution,” Pride wrote.

While police determined that there was no criminal intent on the man’s part, Pride cautioned against carrying anything that appears to be a firearm including air rifles, pellet guns and facsimiles of firearms.

“If police receive a call that a person appears to be carrying a firearm, it will be treated with an immediate and serious response,” he wrote.