[SIZE=-1].[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]11-Year-Old Arrested For Using Rubber Band Gun[/SIZE] <small>mangalorean.com ^ | 06/06/07 | mangalorean.com</small> <small>Posted on 06/07/2007 7:59:37 AM PDT by TornadoAlley3</small> 11-Year-Old Arrested For Using Rubber Band Gun OCOEE (Florida), June 7: An 11-year-old Ocoee boy was arrested for playing with a toy gun. Police said the arrest was necessary, because it was a safety issue. The boy was using a rubber band gun and his father said the kid did nothing wrong, but police said they take it as a serious threat and the 11-year-old is facing felony charges. The crime isn't very common, but Ocoee police said it is serious. It centers on an 11-year0old boy and his toy short-barreled shotgun. The incident started Sunday afternoon, when the 11-year-old was riding in his dad's pickup near Clarke Road and White Road in Ocoee. Someone driving nearby called police after they said the boy pointed what looked like a real gun out the window. The victim told police she was afraid for her life. "With that type of behavior, it's hard to tell if it's a real gun or not, especially in their car," said Sgt. Randy Conyers, Ocoee Police Department. But, according to the charging affidavit, the 11-year-old's dad said nothing was wrong with what his son had done and that he used to do it as a kid. The boy even told police he was pretending to be a cop and thought the victims were laughing with him. The gun itself only fires rubber bands and was checked into evidence. Police didn't comment on the weapon's color or release any images. Still, the victims said they were frightened and, police said, toy or no toy, the charges are justified. Eyewitness News spoke to the father of the suspect on the phone. He said his son is out of juvenile detention and that a judge told him the case would be dropped. He also confirmed that the gun was black, but that it looked more like a stick than a gun.
i understand how this sounds silly and to me it kind'a does... but there is something to be said about pointing guns at people, toy or not... i know that there are more than a few cops that have sleepless nights because of taking a kids life because of a toy and then there are the rules like treat every weapon as if it is real and loaded and never point a weapon at any thing you don't intend to hit/shoot at/destroy/KILL... seems like there was a failure to educate this young man in weapons safety. (RANT OVER)
If I would have ever pointed a toy gun at somebody out the car window...... My dad would've hit me so hard I'd still have a headache. Now that I think on it.... I think I had to leave my toy guns at home.
Hey in this day and age an 11yr old having a real gun is possible.. maybe not likely with the parents being around driving down the road but I can see the persons point of view. Unfortuantly chances are that the charges will be dropped by the prosecutors office but the people that want to scream about guns and kids have gotten their ammo. Take care Be safe Poacher.
I am sorry but the appropriate response from the LEO would have been to phone the complaintant and tell them "IT'S A RUBBER-BAND GUN, YOU FREAKING IDIOT!", end of story.
I still find it hard to beat the story about the youngster who was expelled from school for holding a FRENCH FRY in a "gun-like, threatening manner" in the school cafeteria! I always preferred "spit wads" propelled through a straw when I was a kid. Relatively silent, not exactly "lethal", cheap "ammo", and no one knew where they came from! Of course, nowadays, those "weapons" would be deemed as "blow guns"....a FELONY in some states! "PFFT!......"SPLAT!"
Better then the "spit wads"...have you ever made a mashed potato shooter at school. All you need is a straw and some hard school mashed potatoes. Works like a charm.
