A male exotic dancer who sparked chaos after shoppers spotted him carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle in the Perth CBD has been charged by police.
Police swarmed King Street about 2.40pm on Sunday after Chad Satchell allegedly flashed the tools of his trade on the way to work.
The Nollamara man stunned shoppers when he started roaming the street wearing a bulletproof vest and seemingly armed with a rifle.
Police pounced on the 31-year-old, later finding that Mr Satchell was in fact a stripper on his way to work.
It is believed Mr Satchell, the director of Fantasy Entertainment Australia, was performing the role of “sexy SWAT officer” for a party he was going to attend.
Police found that the assault rifle was in fact a gel blaster.
Police have charged Mr Satchell with possession of a prohibited weapon and being armed in a way that may cause fear.
It is alleged he placed the gel blaster gun, similar in design to an AR-15 assault rifle, on the ground next to him and put on a pair of boots and a black military style mesh vest with “SWAT” embossed on the back.
It led to several shoppers to call police, believing the firearm was real.
Gel blasters, which shoot water-filled gel pellets, have been prohibited in WA since July 2021 on the back of a rise of replica guns being smuggled into the State and converted into real weapons.
At the time, Police Minister Paul Papalia said police were unable to tell the difference between gel blasters and real guns out on the street.
“It is a far too dangerous situation to tolerate any longer,” he said.
“When a police officer is responding to a call out, they will be assuming someone is in possession of a firearm.”
The surge of gel blasters became an issue for police who reported being confronted by the weapons almost 150 times in 2020.
A police spokesman said Sunday’s incident was an important reminder about the potential consequences of presenting realistic weapons in public and for owning prohibited weapons.
“The members of the public who called for police assistance had genuine concerns for their safety and the safety of others,” the spokesman said.
“The firearm in question looks very real and it would be very difficult for any member of the public to be able to determine whether it was in fact real or not.”
Anyone caught in possession of a gel blaster faces maximum penalties of up to three years in prison or a $36,000 fine.
Mr Satchell is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on September 1.
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