Grand Theft Auto Online’s annual holiday event has returned and there are new and returning open-world encounters to participate in. One such encounter is the Weazel Plaza Shootout, an awesome reference to Die Hard that rewards players with the WM 29 Pistol for free.
How to Start the Weazel Plaza Shootout in GTA Online
Just like other holiday public events in GTA Online, the Weazel Plaza Shootout has a few criteria that must be met in order for it to spawn. Firstly, the session that you’re in must be at least 20 minutes old. You also must be within 400 minutes of the Weazel Plaza building. Lastly, the event only spawns at nighttime between the hours of 8 PM to 6 PM in-game. Unlike spawning the Gooch, this event can be done solo in an invite-only session.
Remember that this is a random event like the crime scenes and armored trucks throughout Los Santos, so it’s not guaranteed to spawn immediately after you meet the criteria. After you hit the 20 minute mark in your session, you’ll probably have to wait a while longer for it to appear. Also, if the event recently took place in a public session that you’re a part of, it will take even longer to start again.
Related: All GTA Online snowman locations to unlock the snowman outfit
Some players are using a certain strategy to force the Weazel Plaza Shootout event to start, however. Set your GTA Online spawn location to your last location and then repeatedly find new sessions until the event begins.
How to Get the WM 29 Pistol
Once the Weazel Plaza Shootout event spawns, all you need to do is complete the event to earn some free holiday rewards. Fly to the top of the Weazel Plaza building and you’ll find some criminals engaged in standoff with police helicopters. There’s a red flare on the roof of the building that will help you spot them.
To complete the event, you need to take out all of the enemies. Landing on the roof will immediately net you a 3-star wanted level, so the police will be after you. Your main target is a man in a suit. Once you kill him, approach his body and you will be able to collect the WM 29 Pistol.
Related: How to find the Gooch in GTA Online
Only one player can claim it and it can be finnicky to make the interaction prompt appear, so be prepared for enemy interference if you’re in a public session. Once you pick up the WM 29 Pistol, it’ll automatically be added to your weapon wheel. You’ll also unlock the Season’s Greetings skin for the Pistol Mk. II which can be applied for free.
While you can repeat the Weazel Plaza Shootout event as often as you’d like (the weapon is replaced with a $25,000 reward), there are many other things to do in GTA Online while the holiday event is active. Snowmen have returned to Los Santos if you missed out on last year’s event, and the fearsome yeti is prowling the Chiliad wilderness as well.