Airsoft Sig MPX rifle recovered on June 2, 2020 by the Buffalo Grove Police Department. | Provided photo.

A 23-year-old man has been charged after he prompted a large police response when he carried a replica rifle in a Buffalo Grove neighborhood and then ran from police.

The Buffalo Grove Police Department responded around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to the 1100 block of Miller Lane for a report of people wearing masks while armed with what appeared to be a rifle.

Officers located two men, one carrying a long dark object. When police asked them to stop, they ran and dropped the object, according to the Village of Buffalo Grove.

Officers caught up with the two men and they stopped and cooperated with police commands. The officers located the object that was dropped and determined it to be a metal airsoft rifle.

Christian J. Longsworth, 23, of the 1500 block of Crimson Lane in Palatine, was charged with disorderly conduct. The second man, who was from Wheeling, was released without charges after questioning.

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“Officers are forced to make split-second decisions and, as you can see in the accompanying photo, the rifle appears to be real. Had the person not dropped it, this situation could have turned out much differently,” the Village of Buffalo Grove said in a statement.

Buffalo Grove police thanked the person who called 911 and encourage the public to call police if they see suspicious activity.