Hitchhiker pulls gun on driver in Brandon, say police

A driver encountered a harrowing incident Sunday night in Brandon, Man., when a hitchhiker he had picked up pulled a gun on him.

"The hitchhiker was giving him directions to his destination when he reached behind him. At this point the caller got scared and took off from the vehicle and ran to the closet residence with lights on," the Brandon Police Service said in a news release Monday.

The driver ran to a nearby home and yelled at the man inside the house to call police. It was just before 11:30 p.m. when the resident called police.

The driver told police that hehad been driving in the area and picked up a male hitchhiker onRosser Avenue East. Then the hitchihiker pulled a gun on him.

It appears that neither man knew each other, according to police.

When officers found the driver's vehicle in the 200 block of Lorne Avenue, they found a man lying down in the back seat, with a loaded semi-automatic handgun under the driver's seat next to him.

A 19-year-old man from Brandon was arrested and taken into custody. He faces charges of possessing a restricted firearm and ammunition and possessing a firearm contrary to a court order.