15-year-old arrested after allegedly pointing fake gun at another teen; Vancouver police say real weapons seized

VANCOUVER -

The arrest of a 15-year-old boy was one of three incidents reported in a Vancouver park over the weekend.

Police say the teen was seen in the park pointing what appeared to be a gun at another teenager in Douglas Park Friday night.

The boy was arrested, and officers allege he had an imitation handgun with him at the time. According to the Vancouver Police Department, he also had a baton and a knife.

The VPD has not said what charges, if any, the teenager could face.

At the same time, officers were called to the south end of the same park for another incident involving a weapon and a teenager.

In a news release Monday outlining the weekend's calls, the VPD said its officers were told two men with a gun had approached a different 15-year-old and demanded money.

The suspects left the area before police got to the park, and no one is in custody.

Just a block away and about four hours later, members of the VPD were told a 16-year-old girl had been groped from behind by an unknown man. That suspect too is outstanding.

Calling it a "busy weekend," the department said officers were also sent to a Tim Horton's location near Davie and Hornby streets early Friday for a report that a customer who'd ordered a doughnut used bear spray on an employee.

Additionally, they're investigating an assault near King Edward Avenue and Fraser Street as a possible hate crime – an elderly Asian woman was shoved as she walked toward a bus stop by a man she did not know – and a fight in the Downtown Eastside allegedly involving a man with a loaded gun.

The department summarized the weekend's events in a news release titled "VPD responds to weekend chaos."

While the latest does not mention police staffing, it does note that the incidents outlined were in addition to protests, missing persons and other police matters.

It's not the first such news release.

On Sept. 13, the VPD used a summary of weekend "shootings, stabbings, and other major crimes" in a news release that appeared to be constructed in a way to highlight that the department was "stretched thin."

A similar news release was sent out on Sept. 8 noting 11 officers were injured in a "spate" of weekend incidents.

No connection has been made by the force, but the releases come as a battle over the department's 2021 budget is being reviewed at the provincial level.

Earlier this year, the Vancouver Police Board announced its members had unanimously decided to apply for a budget review from B.C.'s director of policing, describing the approximately $340-million budget approved by city council last year as a "$5.7 million cut."

A report presented to the board by the VPD last week suggested the department is currently $1,340,893 over budget, and that update only included information on the first six months of the year.

The report said some of the increased spending is due to overtime and changes in benefits, and projects a $7.67-million deficit by the end of the year.