Man in camouflage gear with fake sniper rifle on London Underground arrested by British Transport Police

A man who alarmed rail passengers by brandishing an imitation sniper rifle at a London station has been arrested.

The man, dressed in full camouflage gear, allegedly assembled the toy rifle on an Elizabeth Line Tube platform before appearing to point the barrel at a carriage of a train pulling into Whitechapel station.

Commuters could be seen in footage posted on social media getting out of his way and looking at him anxiously as they waited on the platform in east London.

British Transport Police later confirmed the man, in his 20s, had dressed up with an imitation gun and was on his way to a film and comic convention.

The force arrested the man at his home on suspicion of one count of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear or violence, and one count of possession of an offensive weapon. He has since been released on bail.

Ian Drummond-Smith, the assistant chief constable for network policing for British Transport Police, posted on X saying he “agreed” with a post that said: “This is a surefire way to get yourself arrested and potentially shot.”

The specialist firearms commander wrote: “High-jinx gone wrong here. Not an actual firearm. Male arrested at his home for imitation firearms offences. Items seized and he’s currently on bail.”

Gun was part of costume

The force said it had to respond to every call about a weapon, and urged anyone travelling to dress-up events to keep them concealed.

The man was attending the Comic-Con event MegaCon Live at the London ExCel on January 25 and travelled with a gun as part of his costume.

Martin Grayton, British Transport Police’s armed policing chief inspector, said: “Every year around Comic-Con, we receive reports from people who have been alarmed by weapons being carried on the train.”

“We assess and respond to every call we receive about a weapon. A police response can cause disruption and alarm to passengers and, if it’s a prop, may mean that you’ve kept us away from more important incidents.

“For your sake and that of everyone else on your train, no matter how unrealistic you think they look, please keep your prop weapons out of sight while travelling.”