Police called to arrest ‘armed man’ who turned out to be Star Wars cosplayer
A ‘armed’ man who caused a train to return to the station over safety fears turned out to be a Star Wars fan cosplaying as a stormtrooper.
Scottish user ‘Grampian Stormtrooper’ wrote in a post on Facebook last week: ‘Was on a train to Dundee for DeeCon in my stormtrooper [costume].
‘Train stopped not long out of station, guard came to chat asking about blaster. Then asked me to go with him for a chat. Apparently someone reported it to police, train went back to Aberdeen.’
At the station, the user claims to have been met by two firearms officers, three regular police officers and two members of the British Transport Police.
After chatting further with the man, the officers then returned him to his home so that he could fetch a bag in which to place his costume, before bringing him back to the station so that he could get another into to the convention he was due to attend.
‘Crazy world we live in. Been doing it 10 years, first time any issue with stormtrooper blaster.’
On his page, Grampian Stormtrooper describes himself as a ‘stormtrooper with a Scottish twist’, who regularly attends convention dressed in full armour and a kilt.
Many commenters under the user’s post were supportive.
One person said: ‘[The police] have too much time on their hands.’
Another person wrote: ‘From a personal standpoint, any time I’ve seen you or anyone else out and about in cosplay or even just people rocking their own personal out-of-the-box style, it makes me smile and just makes the world seem a little brighter for a while.
‘Please keep doing what you’re doing.’
The story recalls a similar incident from almost exactly the same date last year, when transit police in Boston, Massachusetts were rushed to Back Bay Station after reports of a person carrying a long gun on one of the railway platforms.
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This turned out to be a member of the public dressed as Star Wars character Boba Fett, also on their way to a convention the time.
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