On Saturday evening at 4:35 p.m., a driver in Tallinn on Liivalaia tänav alerted police about a swerving Volkswagen Passat. The concerned driver had signaled the Volkswagen's driver about their erratic driving, prompting the Volkswagen to follow them, eventually pulling up alongside their car and displaying what appeared to be a firearm through the window.

The police responded swiftly and, within five minutes, detained the suspicious Volkswagen driver near the Kreutzwaldi bus stop on Narva maantee. The driver, a 26-year-old man already known to police, was found to be intoxicated and a pneumatic weapon was discovered in the vehicle.

Northern Prefecture operations chief Urmet Tambre noted that incidents involving objects resembling firearms are becoming increasingly common for law enforcement.

"Just earlier this week, we had to address an incident involving reports of shots fired with a weapon at Falgi Park. Just as an ordinary person cannot distinguish between a real firearm and a starter pistol or their sounds in the dark and from a distance, neither can police officers," Tambre explained.

"For us, such calls are treated as having the highest threat level and we always respond prepared for a situation where a person could indeed be armed with a real firearm. This means that police officers are ready to use their own firearms to ensure the safety of surrounding people and themselves. Unfortunately, many of these incidents involve intoxicated individuals and there have been instances where officers have had to shoot at a person brandishing a weapon who refuses to comply with orders. It is incomprehensible to me why items so closely resembling firearms are so readily accessible to everyone," Tambre added.

A criminal investigation has been initiated against the Volkswagen driver.

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