A Cranberry Portage man arrested last month on suspicion of gun possession faces no charges after police failed to find a firearm.
The man, 40, was arrested on Thursday, February 26, about an hour after RCMP responded to a report that he was potentially armed inside a residence.
“Information was received of a possible firearm,” RCMP spokeswoman Holly Plato told The Reminder in an email. “However, this was later determined (following the arrest and search of the residence) not to be the case.”
Asked whether police had received a bogus tip on the man, Plato said she could not speculate about the information given to officers.
Plato said the man stayed inside the residence alone for the hour or so it took to arrest him. She could not say whether the Cranberry Portage residence belonged to him or someone else.
Six Mounties from Cranberry Portage, Flin Flon and The Pas assisted in the arrest. Plato said no one was injured.
After the report came into police at about 11:32 am, both of Cranberry Portage’s schools – Cranberry Portage Elementary School and Frontier Collegiate Institute – went into lockdown as a precaution.
Though the man was not armed, police nonetheless issued a news release on the incident headlined “Cranberry-Portage RCMP arrest armed male.”
Police did not issue a follow-up release after confirming the man had no weapon.
