Man charged with firearm offences after N.S. pharmacy locked down: Meteghan RCMP

An RCMP patch is seen on the shoulder of an assistant commissioner, in Surrey, B.C., on Friday, April 28, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Police have charged a man with multiple firearm-related offences after an incident outside a pharmacy near Meteghan, N.S., last week.

In a Sunday news release, police say they responded to a report of a man who had a firearm in his possession outside of the store at around 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to police, a man and woman had driven another man, who was known to the two, to the pharmacy. While on the way, the two noticed the man to have what they believed to be a firearm with him.

After arriving to the pharmacy, the two called 911, leaving the man with the firearm in their vehicle in the parking lot. The pharmacy then locked down.

Police say the man did not try to go into the store, but just before officers arrived he fled the parking lot into a white van being driven by someone else which was parked nearby. RCMP then began a search for the suspect alongside multiple agencies.

The man was located and arrested outside a business in Weymouth at around 2 p.m. Police say he was not armed at the time of the arrest. Officers later arrested the driver of the van in Church Point.

Craig Mitchell Burns, 30, of Weymouth, is facing a number of charges including:

•  possession of a concealed firearm
•  unauthorized possession of a restricted weapon
•  breach of conditions

He was taken into custody and is set to appear in provincial court in Digby on Tuesday.

The driver of the van, a 32-year-old Church Point man, will be facing breach charges, according to the RCMP.

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