Updated: Toy gun panic

A 13-year-old boy unknowingly created a massive panic in San Gwann this afternoon when he boarded an Arriva bus and someone noticed a gun hanging on his waistband. The police said they received a call at around 2pm informing them that on Arriva route bus 22, a man was suspected to be carrying a firearm. The caller told the police what the "man" was wearing and where he was sitting. Members of the Rapid Intervention Unit stopped the bus in Birkirkara Road, San Gwann, two officers boarded the bus and approached the young man, arrested and searched him. They found him carrying the "weapon" in the waistband of his trousers. It could be seen from underneath his shirt. However, the "gun" he was carrying was an imitation, known as BB gun. He was taken to the police station, his parents were informed of what happened and he was released. The police said that carrying similar objects could lead to unpleasant and grave situations. Weapon replicas, they said, should never be carried in a way which could cause public alarm, as happened in this case.