Lawrence police arrested a 37-year-old transient man after he accosted a resident with what appeared to be a handgun.

Sgt. Damon Thomas said that the transient and the Lawrence resident had an argument in the 900 block of Massachusetts Street. The man then lifted up his shirt to display what appeared to be a gun in the small of his back.

Thomas said it turned out to be a “very realistic plastic gun.”

“He didn’t pull it on him or put it in his face, but that still puts him in a reasonable state of fear,” Thomas said.

Thomas said the transient fled to the Lawrence Community Shelter, 214 W. 10th St., where he was arrested on charges of aggravated assault. He was booked into jail at 7:29 p.m. Tuesday night.