Edmonton police say they have a person of interest in custody for questioning Tuesday, after warning Riverbend residents of an armed man walking on area trails.
On Monday, Edmonton police told Riverbend residents to use caution when travelling on area footpaths, after receiving two reports over the weekend of a male brandishing a handgun.
Police responded to the first incident near the Snow Valley ski resort parking lot around four o'clock Friday afternoon. A group of cyclists say they saw a male carrying what appeared to be a handgun, which he then tucked into his waistband upon their approach. They say the man was last seen running eastbound towards 119 Street.
The EPS received a similar complaint around seven o'clock on Saturday, this time from a resident walking across the Terwillegar Drive footbridge just north of 23 Avenue. In this case, a male flashed what also appeared to be a handgun at the adult and their child, before running westbound towards the St. Thomas More Church.
Scott Pattison, communications advisor for EPS, says they want residents to know these events are happening in their community.
"We don't want to create unnecessary fear in the community, we don't whether this is a replica gun, or if it's a real gun but, again, we approach all of these situations assuming it's a real gun."
In both cases, the male was described as being around 5 '8 to 5 '10 in height, dressed in black clothing and using a dark-coloured balaclava or ski mask to cover their face.
Police believe the two incidents are related, and are cautioning Riverbend-area residents to avoid approaching this individual and to contact the EPS immediately on its non-emergency complaint line at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-8477.
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