photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World File Photo

A Lawrence Police Department vehicle is seen in this file photo from September 2018.

A man was reported to be threatening people with a firearm Friday morning, but arresting officers determined that he had an airsoft pistol in his possession, according to Lawrence police.

Officers were dispatched to the call at 8:33 a.m. Friday in the 1500 block of West 23rd Street, Officer Shawn Gross of the Lawrence Police Department Public Affairs Unit said via email.

“The suspect pointed at several people what was believed by witnesses at that time to be a handgun, then fled the area,” Gross wrote. “Officers arrived on scene and located the suspect, who was determined to have an airsoft pistol in his possession at the time of police contact.”

The man was arrested and taken to the Douglas County Jail without incident, Gross said. As of 11 a.m. Friday, the investigation was ongoing and no further information was available.

A 28-year-old Lawrence man was arrested in connection with the incident, the jail’s online booking log indicates. As of Friday morning, he was being held without bond on suspicion of aggravated assault.

Airsoft guns shoot nonlethal plastic pellets.