40-year-old man threatens young children with fake firearm
The 40-year-old has been released. He was sent home with a summons, a police spokesperson said. "The man will have to stand trial at a later date," the spokesperson informed.
A man threatened two small children with a fake firearm in Honselersdijk on Friday evening. However, the children thought this was real. Police used, among other things, a police helicopter to find the suspect. A 40-year-old man from the Zuid-Holland village was arrested and is still in custody.
The complaint to the police was received at 8:20 p.m. The man allegedly threatened the children from his boat. He then drove the boat in the direction of the auction in De Lier. The exact cause of the threat between the man and the children, a police spokesman would not say, as the investigation is still ongoing.
The police found the man near a bridge in De Lier. There, officers determined that the firearm was a fake. It was confiscated, as well as a cartridge holder of an air pistol and a knife that the suspect was carrying.
In general, it is not legal to carry a fake firearm in public. According to the police, fake firearms are difficult to distinguish from real ones from a distance. Since it is so difficult to judge whether such a weapon is real or fake, it is not allowed to walk around with it on the street. The man has not yet been questioned by the police.
Reporting by ANP and NL Times
