A report of “possible shots fired” from a boat at Fisherman’s Wharf on Wednesday afternoon led to several piers being blocked off for three hours and the deployment of the police Emergency Response Team.
No firearm was found, said Victoria police spokesman Grant Hamilton, but the call was deemed legitimate and required checking out.
A man described as “very co-operative” was taken into custody for his own well-being, Hamilton said, adding that no charges are expected. The man was described as an occupant of the boat; it was not immediately clear if it was his vessel.
On Thursday, Victoria police said their search didn’t reveal any evidence that there was a gunshot and the man was released a short time later without charges.
The police tactical team arrived with assault rifles and shields shortly after 4 p.m. and began checking boats. Officers climbed aboard one boat and waited there for some time. An ambulance was on standby, but there were no injuries reported.
The incident ended just before 7 p.m.
Kevin Amell and his young sons had to leave the boat where they live as the police action was underway.
While several onlookers said they had not heard gunshots, Amell said he had heard “some sort of a bang” and wondered what it was. He said someone else heard it, too, and called police.
He found the evacuation “a bit” disconcerting, but said his sons were “annoyed because they were playing Minecraft and they had to stop.”
Instead, they spent a long time watching two large black-and-yellow butterflies.
The Emergency Response Team is typically deployed for high-risk calls where a weapon is thought to be present or when someone is thought to be a threat to themselves or others.
