Mounties’ faces are matching their jackets on the University of British Columbia campus, where two students found a loaded RCMP shotgun in the middle of the road Thursday night.
Peter Zhao said he was stunned to make the dangerous discovery while walking with a friend on Wesbrook Mall.
“It looked real, it looked loaded, and there was a sack in the back for extra ammo,” Zhao said. “It felt dangerous. I felt my adrenaline going while I was holding it.”
The students tried to take it to the nearby University RCMP detachment but found it closed, so they called 911 instead.
“I think it’s really fortunate we found it [rather] than someone with bad intentions,” Zhao said.
Staff Sgt. Darren Malcolm said an officer was putting equipment in his cruiser, left the shotgun on the trunk by mistake and drove off.
The weapon fell onto the street just outside the detachment and was quickly run over by another car, rendering it inoperable, Malcolm said.
“It turned out well but obviously firearms are dangerous,” he said. “In this particular case the gun safety was on, there was nothing loaded into the chamber.”
The RCMP has promised to investigate the incident and Malcolm said the officer, who’s only been on the force two years, may face disciplinary action.
“The member is quite upset with himself and has been beating himself up because he recognizes the potential hazards,” he said.
Malcolm wouldn’t say what potential discipline the officer could receive.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Scott Roberts
