Report of rifle-wielding men in North Vancouver turned out to be amateur film shoot: RCMP

Police in North Vancouver, B.C., are urging filmmakers to get proper permits after officers responded to a report of armed men that turned out to be an amateur movie shoot on Saturday.

A security guard called police around 5:30 p.m. PT to report several men wearing body armour and carrying rifles in an underground parkade near the 1800-block of Marine Drive, according to RCMP Const. Mansoor Sahak.

After a brief police confrontation near the busy shopping area, police quickly learned the weapons were fakes being used to shoot an amateur movie in the lot, Sahak said.

"Once we quickly learned that this was not a real threat, we adjusted our response," Sahak told CBC News on Monday. "But nevertheless, had we known that this was a movie set, we wouldn't have responded like that at all."

Nearly all officers on duty in North Vancouver were called to the scene, he said, due to the significance of the reported threat.

"We don't know the backstory of what's going on, and what's happening," said Sahak. "We have to treat every scenario as if it's a real situation, a real threat to the public. And so that's how our officers responded."

Sahak wouldn't give the exact number of people carrying the replica guns, nor the number of officers that responded.

RCMP said an investigation found the group hadn't received the necessary provincial or city permits to film in a public location and there was no signage to let residents, businesses or police know what would be taking place.

Sahak said RCMP spoke to the men about the permits they needed and let them off with a warning.

"It's a warning to the public that if you are going to be filming a movie set with real props like fake guns and replicas, you follow the proper procedure," he added.

Productions wishing to film in British Columbia require permits issued by the province or the municipality, according to the government of B.C.'s website.

In North Vancouver, that means submitting an application form to the city at least five days before filming begins, according to the city's website.

'Cowboy filming' 

Filming location supervisor Gerry Freeman says permits are required to prevent incidents just like these, particularly when weapons are involved.

"Getting a film permit makes you go through a process that makes it safe for the public, makes it safe for everybody involved, and actually makes it safer for your actors," Freeman told CBC News. 

There needs to be a trained armourer on the set, the public needs to be notified and anytime weapons are present, productions also need to pay for a police officer to be on set, said Freeman.

He says "cowboy filming" productions that don't follow the rules risk their own safety, noting that police have killed people who have been wielding fake or replica weapons.

"They're sacrificing safety and public awareness to save some money," said Freeman.

"There are people out there who would take those risks just to do a film. It's really not worth it."

'Scary situation'

Sahak said the RCMP were relieved there was no threat and everyone was safe, but added that incidents like these take resources away from real emergencies.

"Anytime a call like that comes in with males in tactical gear and carrying rifles, it's a scary situation for officers because you know it's the call that we don't normally typically expect in quiet North Vancouver," he said. 

"And, so, it's a very high risk situation for everybody involved."