Sad reminder as why we keep airsoft guns off minors and public view...
 

Not to sound like an asshole here, but if what the cops said is true - that kid was extremely stupid. Carrying a realistic looking airsoft gun in public view, not raising his hands, reaching for the gun, removing the orange tip... etc.

It's unfortunate that the cop wasn't informed that it may have been a fake, but with the information he had, he did the right thing. It's almost impossible to tell the difference from 20+ feet away.

What bugs me is all the people on other sites saying "why didn't he shoot it out of his hand", "why didn't he shoot him in the leg", "should have tazed him". It's not hollywood :(

Super unfortunate.

+1

If you consciously choose to carry a gun out in public like that, and not listen to the LEO's commands you'd better be ready for the consequences. No excuse for utter stupidity like that.

This is sad from all sides... let's not try and place blame anywhere.

The mother states that they have no guns so it was obviously someone elses, probably a friend. A friend who probably got it from an adult in his household. The kid is 12, he's used to playing guns, cops and robbers... etc. with his friends. He probably thought he was playing another game.

I don't blame the kid for what happened or the cop for what happened. This is purely the fault of whoever owned that gun, removed the orange tip then left it around for a child to grab who then thought it was so awesome that he showed it to his friend who was then unfortunate enough to have a cop appear on the scene.

Don't go around trying to place blame on anyone involved, either the cop or the child. Both did as their natures dictated to them from training and play.

This is an unfortunate tragedy pure and simple.

I have spoken with my own kids about gun safety because I own airsoft guns and my kids uncle (on my ex-wifes side) owns real pistols. This should be the responsibility of every parent because you never know when they might encounter a gun, real or toy.

Who gave him the kid airsoft pistol is going to have to live with this?

Also the reports said the kid was reported by an older man and the man did clearly tell the dispatcher that the person displaying the gun was a "junvenile" and the gun is probably a "fake gun".

Did the dispatcher radio the police and say "a man with a gun" or a "kid with a possible toy gun" ?

It said in the news report that the information that the gun "was probably a toy" was not given to the officer. In the end though, that doesn't matter, whether the witness thought it was a toy gun is immaterial, the police cannot take the chance that it's real or a toy, especially with the orange tip removed/painted over.

Sadly to say, milsim paintball guns don't have orange tips either sold in the US. So sooner or later a kid with this type of gun will also get shot.

http://www.punisherspb.com/Category/Guns/MILSIG.aspx
http://www.punisherspb.com/Category/...ns/Cronus.aspx
http://www.punisherspb.com/Category/...PX-PISTOL.aspx

It happens with plastic toys guns that don't shoot anything at all. This is always going to be a risk with toys unless they look like a fluorescent nerf gun. That's why most stores won't sell airsoft guns to minors even though there's no law saying they can't. You can bet your ass that the mother of that kid has already gotten a lawyer to sue everyone they can think of, not just for the money but to punish them for what happened.

People get shot over cellphones and toy airplanes and nerf guns they painted black.

Any kid in the Western world thinks they know all about guns since they've seen them used as day to day items on TV, Movies, Video games and more. Kids used to learn about safe handling from hunting, cadets or the scouts. Pretty well all those venues are now shut down expect for a tiny percentile.

They need to teach firearms safety the same way they teach sex ed. It can't be don't touch they're evil, don't ask they're just for killing babies; it has to be a positive lesson.

This.

You guys stop talking sense. That is not allowed in this country.

I forgot; today's the day the sky falls.

They made a movie about it.

it's Cleveland guys...

Actually blame does need to be placed or things like this keep happening. This isn't some random event, wrong place at the wrong time: it happened for very clear and distinct reasons.

And if some information wasn't passed along to the cop, the bulk of the blame does lie on the kid who was reportedly pointing it at people passing by (the reason cops were called in the first place), failing to comply with LEO (pretty fucking typical these days in the US among certain socio-economic groups: not wanting to roll down their windows for what would otherwise be a routine traffic stop, etc), reaching for the gun, etc.

Not everything is the cops' faults. "Might be a toy gun" doesn't mean "absolutely for certain isn't a real gun" either.



Or a friend just had it. Its the US, airsoft there is plagued with prepubescent kiddies.


What? Was he mentally handicapped too?

He was 12, not 5 or a dog. By the time you're 12 you should be able to wrap your brain around the concept that when the cops show up its not a game.



You're assuming the gun wasn't his or a friend's (and yes it could have been his, we all had stuff our parents didn't know about when we were kids) and even if someone left it someplace accessible (and honestly at that age anything that isn't heavily locked down is "accessible") there was some serious behavioral problems: taking it in public is dumb, but I'll let it slide for a kid; pointing it at people? That's a major failure in judgement. Not listening to LEO? That one is really asking for trouble.

Blaming the owner of the gun is like blaming the owner of a car that got borrowed by someone who ends up driving under the influence and killing someone.

Blame bad parenting. Heck, blame an entertainment sub-culture that promotes thuggishness and general dumbassery in the name of sticking it to "the man." But the owner of the gun? Not unless he handed it to the kid and said "go forth and wreck havoc on the playground with this."


Exactly.

I was given my first pellet gun when I was about 7 or 8. It wasn't just given to me to go run around willy-nilly with. And I knew to respect LEO authority, but I never needed to because I never created a situation where LE had to be called on me.



So that makes it okay?

pics or it didnt happen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP8DNB4Fbs4


Sorry but that's extremely stupid behavior. Act like a thug, die like a thug.