The incident occurred right on the Nanaimo side of the Lantzville border on Schook Rd.(Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

scary scene

Man arrested after firing BB gun at Nanaimo police officers

Sep 20, 2022 | 10:17 AM

NANAIMO — One man is in custody after firing a BB gun at several Mounties, injuring one of them and damaging multiple police cruisers in Nanaimo’s north end.

Daniel John Mcclintock, 35, is facing several charges including three charges of assault of a peace officer with a weapon and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose following a weekend incident.

On Sunday, Sep 18, shortly after 6:00 p.m., police were called to the wooded area near Schook Rd. and Dover Rd, after witnesses reported a man walking near the wooded area with a long gun.

Cst. Sherri Wade with the Nanaimo RCMP said when an officer arrived on scene, the suspect immediately opened fire.

“He pointed his long gun directly at the officers patrol car, so the officer reversed their vehicle and exited the vehicle to engage the vehicle, taking a tactical position behind the car… the male shot his gun and the projectile bounced off the patrol car and hit the officer in the leg.”

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That’s when the officer examined her injuries and realized it was a BB pellet and quickly radioed other responding officers to alert them.

As more police arrived, the suspect hide behind a rock at the northen edge of Pioneer Park and continued firing at the officers, damaging two patrol vehicles.

Police say the suspect was initially located by police sitting on a large rock when he started to open fire. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Wade said the suspect then tried to run across the sports field, but was pursued and eventually captured by their police dog, Luthor.

“Luthor was able to catch him, but then the man started to fight with Luthor, and then the other members attended and were able to subdue the offender. At the scene, they found a black air gun, a tin of BB pellets, and a box of CO2 canisters.”

Wade said she gives the officer who was hit with the BB pellets lots of credit for being able to quickly determine what kind of gun it was based on her minor injuries.

“I can only assume that when she looked, there was no blood, there was no obvious injury because it would have hurt a lot… it (BB pellets) definitely hurt, and someone could have had serious damage done to their face.”

Wade told NanaimoNewsNOW it’s safe to assume the suspect wanted to draw attention.

“His actions were very specific. Except for the dog handler, everyone was driving around in a marked police car, and he did point his weapon at the officer’s patrol vehicle. So I don’t know what his intention was, but he certainly was trying to draw attention to himself from the police.”

Mcclintock was charged and is facing another court appearance on Sept. 20. He also faces charges of mischief for the damage to the police vehicles, and failure to comply with a release order.

Wade said Luthor was uninjured during the confrontation.

Mcclintock has an extensive criminal record, including crimes of violence.

He was also charged with breaching his release conditions as part of Saturday’s incident.

Mclintock remains in custody.

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