Skip to content

Burnaby RCMP respond to report of grenade in hotel room

Burnaby RCMP officers had to respond in a cautious manner this week with the report of a grenade. Officers were called out to the report that the grenade had been left behind in a Burnaby hotel room, according to an RCMP tweet on Tuesday.
fake grenade
Burnaby RCMP responded when this lighter - which looks like a real grenade - was reported. Screenshot

Burnaby RCMP officers had to respond in a cautious manner this week with the report of a grenade.

Officers were called out to the report that the grenade had been left behind in a Burnaby hotel room, according to an RCMP tweet on Tuesday.

“It turned out to be a lighter,” say police. “We treat all weapons as real until we can prove they are not.”

Replica weapons have become a scourge for Burnaby police in recent weeks.

Two men, including one with a replica handgun tucked in his waistband, were arrested by Burnaby RCMP in late August.

Drug section officers spotted the men engaged in “behaviour associated with drug trafficking” in the area of Imperial Street and Kingsway, according to Burnaby RCMP.

replica gun
A replica gun next to the real thing, according to this New Westminster Police Department.

The officers stopped the men's car, and a search revealed the replica weapon, as well as multiple cell phones and $2,500 in cash.

Earlier this summer, reports of a man with a handgun tucked into his pants brought police to a Burnaby mall parkade.

A member of the public contacted Burnaby RCMP and reported seeing a man with a gun in a Metropolis at Metrotown parkade, according to a police news release.

Multiple units responded, and a witness directed police to where the suspect had last been seen.

Officers located him in a nearby stairwell and told him he was under arrest.

The man was uncooperative at first and appeared to be under the influence of drugs, according to police.

He reached towards his weapon twice, police said, but officers were able to de-escalate the situation and take the man into custody.

The handgun turned out to be a pellet gun that looked a lot like a real firearm, according to police.

“In these instances, we treat a firearm as real until it is proven not to be,” spokesperson Cpl. Mike Kalanj said in the release.

  • With files from Cornelia Naylor