“Suspect seen in a parked car behind Main Street shops with a rifle in his car”—that was the message delivered to the police dispatcher around 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 17. An alert delivery person had noticed the young man holding a rifle in his car and immediately left the parking lot, fearing for his safety. The delivery person then drove to the fire station to report what he’d seen. The fire department notified the police dispatcher and within minutes, several police cars and Police Chief Michael Spera had converged on the Sheffield Street parking lot serving the Main Street stores.

Several years ago, the police department purchased personal protective tactical gear for each patrolman to carry on patrol just in case they needed to respond to a suspect with a gun. So when Officer Sin Souriyamath arrived at the scene, he immediately put on his full tactical gear—including flak vest and helmet—and approached the suspect with his rifle raised and at the ready.

Souriyamath then asked the suspect to put his rifle down. The suspect did so and surrendered to the officers on scene without incident.

Upon inspection of the suspect’s weapon, it was determined that it was actually a pellet/BB rifle. Such a weapon is still classified as a dangerous weapon.

Gao Fei Liu, 32, of Old Lyme, was arrested and charged with breach of peace, second degree, and with carrying a dangerous weapon. The suspect was released on a $5,000 cash bond and will appear in court in Middletown to answer the charges on Oct. 2.