[Toespi]

Police officers, though, say they have little time to sort out a situation when someone is holding a weapon.

[Altariel]

“Police officers, though, say they have little time to sort out a situation when someone is holding a weapon.”

This is not, grammatically or logically, equivalent to your claim that the victim was brandishing a gun.

Nor does it establish that the victim was brandishing a gun.