Posted: 2/22/2004 6:31:39 AM EDT
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Fake guns cause real problems DANGER: There have been several Inland incidents in which toys were mistaken for weapons. 10:05 PM PST on Saturday, February 21, 2004 By STEFANIE FRITH / The Press-Enterprise In La Quinta, a 13-year-old shoots his teenage friend in the eye. In Hemet, two teens and a man are cited for brandishing firearms in a busy intersection. In Corona, a Norco man is arrested after a handgun is used to rob an ice cream store. Inland police officers and deputies have a hard time distinguishing between a real gun, left, and a fake, right. "My worst nightmare is shooting a kid," said Corona police Officer Robert Wilson. But none of these guns were real. Inland police and sheriff's officials say toy guns are an increasing problem for authorities who can't tell the difference between a real weapon and a fake one. "My worst nightmare is shooting a kid," said Corona police Officer Robert Wilson. Police are asking parents to think twice before picking up realistic-looking toy weapons for their children. The fake guns, which shoot BBs or rubber pellets, can be bought at stores such as Big 5 and Wal-Mart. One must be 18 or older to purchase them or have an adult buy one for them. "Parents need to be aware that these guns can put their children in danger," said Corona police Sgt. Jerry Rodriguez. Prices range from $15 for a fake handgun to $159 for a fake rifle. Packaging on a Sig Saver P226, a toy black handgun boasts, "Practice shooting, anytime, anywhere, even indoors!" Last month, a 13-year-old boy was shot in the eye with a toy air gun, which used a spring-loaded mechanism to propel an eighth-inch plastic ball at low velocity. In 1987, a 19-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga was shot and killed by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy while playing with a laser-tag gun that resembled a real gun. In Hemet last week, two Quail Valley teenagers, ages 16 and 17, were cited on suspicion of pointing two toy guns at motorists. An 18-year-old Quail Valley man was also citied on suspicion of brandishing a toy gun. The guns were replicas of two 9mm guns and a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. One of the guns was missing an orange cap to identify it as a toy. Wilson said the lack of the orange tip can be a problem and suggests that if parents buy these toys for their children, they spray paint the guns orange, or another bright color. Corona police have received about 10 calls in the past month about children with fake guns. Several of those guns have lacked the orange tip, said Wilson. In one incident, a boy making a movie for his school was in a tree dressed in camouflage and holding a fake rifle. Police received a call about a "sniper in a tree," Wilson said Look '100 percent real' In another incident, someone called police and said they had seen a man with a gun that looked "100 percent real." It turned out to be a fake, said Rodriguez. When police catch children using fake guns, they talk to them and show them their own guns to point out how realistic the toy guns are, said Wilson. "They think it's a game," said Wilson. "They don't realize they can get their butt shot." Calls made to the Toy Industry Association and to Airsoft, a producer of toy guns, were not returned. But on an Airsoft Web site, consumers are warned, "Even law enforcement officers are unable to distinguish Airsoft from real steel. Never take an Airsoft gun out in public, doing so will endanger your life |