A portion of Swanee Road near Northwestern Avenue in Wausau has been reopened after authorities closed it to search for a suspect they believed ditched a rifle after being spotted by authorities.
According to Lt. Jim Wadinski, from the Wausau Police Department, someone called authorities after spotting a man walking along Townline Road with what appeared to be a weapon.
An officer arrived on scene, and the suspect refused to drop the weapon and took off running.
Officers from the Wausau Police Department and Everest Metro Police Department surrounded the Terrace Heights apartment complex off of Townline Road. Officers had also set up a perimeter to search for the suspect.
Just after 4:30 p.m. the suspect was taken into custody. Police soon discovered the rifle was a toy.
"It's not illegal to walk around with a toy weapon but when police make contact with a person who has a toy weapon and they call out to you, you should stop and identify yourself and talk to police, they're not gonna bother you they'll let you go," Lt. Wadinski said.
The suspect has not been identified, but is being held in the Marathon County Jail.
