With a man appearing armed and looking like a character from an apocalypse movie, it seemed like a terror attack was about to go down in the heart of Toronto.
But this was not a movie set.
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A man in Trinity-Bellwoods Park on Sunday was wearing full tactical gear, looking like something out of a war zone, and he was carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle — like the ones used by Toronto Police officers from Taskforce Guardian who you now see in the city in response to antisemitism and potential terror threats.
He was donning a helmet that appeared to have communications wires protruding out of it, a gas mask that covered most of his face, and what looked like a black, Kevlar police uniform you might see at a major gun call or terror incident. He was also wearing gloves, and the uniform appeared to have pockets to hold extra ammunition.
The way he held the menacing-looking rifle grabbed people’s attention – even ones who were also dressed in costume at this Anime Connects Cherry Blossom Picnic at the popular park, as journalist and lawyer Caryma Sa’d captured on camera. Other participants warned him he had no indicators that could help police know he was benign.
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— Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) May 2, 2026
Police arrest a cosplayer at the first annual Anime Connects Cherry Blossom Picnic at Trinity Bellwoods Park.
The individual’s costume included a prop gun with allegedly 3D-printed parts.
📸 May 2, 2026#Toronto #ProtestMania pic.twitter.com/gWVCv8eNpj
Police approached the individual and asked him to get on the ground and they detained him while they sorted it all out. He complied and police later released him. The man apologized to police and even shook their hands upon release.
It turns out this was a pretend rifle made from air soft parts and not the real thing. It sure looked real.
This was close to becoming ugly.
With the backdrop of the allegations of antisemitism and racism in retired Toronto Police Insp. Hank Idsinga’s book, the terror threat alert in London, England, and the embarrassingly high rise in attacks and threats on Jews including the third smashed window at Aleph Bet Judaica store on Bathurst St., what was this guy thinking?
What the man told the Sun
The man explained to the Toronto Sun that he was just doing his usual costume at a planned event in the park. He offered these clarifications:
— “I was not arrested, as there was no crime. The police let me go.”
— “I have been cosplaying in Toronto with similar setups for five years with absolutely no issues, so you can see why I felt comfortable coming out to the event. I’ve even gone to similar events in that exact park in the past.”
— “There were other cosplayers with life-like weapons and equipment too, so it is not out of the ordinary, and there were some present that day aside from myself.”
— “Talking to the police in the past about weapons at events I was told that ‘as long as you are at an event, and we can see there are other cosplayers, you will be fine.’ Clearly that was not the case.”
— “I have bright orange tape for my weapon that was taken off momentarily for picture, and it was going right back on my prop when I was to sit down. But they got to me before I could.”
In many ways he’s fortunate this did not turn out worse for him. Anybody blaming the cops needs to consider how much trouble they would be in had they not responded and this turned out to be attack-in-waiting like Bondi Beach in Australia, the island slaughter in Norway, or the mass shootings in Nova Scotia, Montreal and on the Danforth in Toronto .
More careful next time
Luckily, it was nothing like that. But one can’t blame people from wondering. The man teases he will be more careful in the future.
“Maybe I’ll bring a super-soaker water gun as a joke next time,” he joked.
While he understands “times are strange indeed,” the man said, “This won’t stop me from cosplaying. I pride myself in having a cosplay that looks as authentic to the lore of my game as possible. Considering that all of the other people with realistic guns and equipment were left alone aside from me, this hasn’t deterred me at all.”
These are tense times for community and for the police, who would have no way of knowing if this was someone wearing a costume or someone wanting to inflict a lethal terror attack. We have had that happen in Toronto before, and police are currently looking for the shooter of GTA synagogues . They are also on the hunt for suspects who used an air-soft gun to shoot at Jewish victims on Bathurst Street.
How are police supposed to know this guy was just having fun when he’s dressed like someone looking ready to commit terror? The man had a solution: In the future, just to be safe, “I’ll be keeping my orange tape on more often.”
Even he wonders if that will be enough?