Report of man with gun in Redmond prompts police calls

A man walking on a northwest Redmond street holding what turned out to be a realistic looking Airsoft-type gun early Wednesday morning prompted worried calls to Deschutes County dispatchers. Sheriff’s deputies said they cordoned off the area, stopped traffic for a time and talked with the man, eventually taking him to the hospital for evaluation.

Deputies were dispatched around 6:40 a.m. to the report of an armed man walking on Northwest Helmholtz Way near Quince Lane, said sheriff’s Lt. Ty Rupert.

The man was described as wearing a dress coat and holding a semi-automatic assault-type weapon, Rupert said. Callers described him as acting strange, strolling and looking around in a manner that caused concern for several residents and drivers in the area. Another passer-by said the male was wearing business attire and sitting in the mud on the road shoulder with the weapon.

Deputies arrived within minutes and set up a perimeter to contain the man, Rupert said. Traffic was stopped in both directions for a brief period while deputies contacted the 37-year-old Redmond man, who was detained without incident/

Deputies determined the man had been walking for several hours throughout the night. Rupert said he was taken by deputies to St. Charles Redmond for evaluation.

“The weapon in (his) possession was determined to be an Airsoft-type gun resembling a semi-automatic assault-type rifle,’ Rupert said in a news release.

No charges were immediately filed, but Rupert said the case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for charging consideration.