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Dover police confiscating toy handguns Fake guns could be mistaken for real ones, cops claim
Daily Record | May 23, 2003 | Michael Daigle
Dover police confiscating toy handguns Fake guns could be mistaken for real ones, cops claim By Michael Daigle, Daily Record
DOVER -- Police said Thursday that snub-nosed, plastic toy guns that have appeared on town streets in the past two days are so realistic that they could put any youngster who has one in real danger.
The danger, said Chief Harold Valentine, comes from the size, shape and color of the toy gun that mimics a real police handgun and in the dark could be mistaken for a real weapon.
"Our worst fear," said Sgt. Barry Young," is that we get a call from a resident about a person with a handgun, and we show up full force. Some kid could get killed."
The toy guns also fire a hard, solid plastic pellet that left one child bleeding after he was shot by his friend, Young said.
He said that toys can be considered real weapons because they are spring loaded and fire a hard pellet.
State law defines a firearm as "any hand gun, rifle shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle" from which "any solid projectable ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet" may be fired. The definition includes, "without limitation," weapons that use air, springs, elastic bands, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor to fire a projectile with enough force to injure a person.
Police confiscated nine of the toys by Thursday, and three more were taken from students at Dover Middle School.
The toys were sold at Guang Fa, a dollar store on East Blackwell Street. Police said 20 of the toys had been sold. Sgt. Bryan Flammia said police took three toy guns from children outside the store Thursday.
A clerk at the store who did not give her name said the store owner was meeting with police Thursday evening.
The toy is called a LaGieao Air Sport Gun. It sells for $2.11. It fires 6-mm, hard plastic pellets that are sold in a separate bag of 100. The toy is imprinted with the name Thomas Sinber 1.5 ACP. The name of a company, AJ Oponance, Covina, Calif., is also imprinted on it.
The bag of pellets carries the legend: "Real high grade hop-up air gun." The package said the toys are not intended for children under 14. Police said youths from 11 to 16 were carrying the guns.
The first one was confiscated from a boy at the Dover carnival Wednesday night, Flammia said. Two others were taken from a pair of youths who were firing at one another from opposite sides of Route 46, which was filled with cars, he said.
"What were the people in those cars thinking?" Flammia wondered.
The size makes the toy easy to conceal, Valentine said. As he spoke, Young slipped one into his waistband so only the black handle was exposed. Even up close it looked like a real gun.
"Imagine that from a distance or in the dark," Valentine said.
In addition, Valentine said, the toy gun features a loading action and magazine that mimics that of real guns. He snapped the bolt on one back and dropped the magazine from the handle with the push of a small button. The moves looked real.
The toys are a dull gold, but Flammia said he was told that some youths are painting them black to heighten the sense of reality. That only increases the danger, he said. He placed his Glock 27 handgun beside one of the toys. They were the same size and shape.
Michael Daigle can be reached at [email protected] or (973) 989-0652.
Daily Record | May 23, 2003 | Michael Daigle
Dover police confiscating toy handguns Fake guns could be mistaken for real ones, cops claim By Michael Daigle, Daily Record
DOVER -- Police said Thursday that snub-nosed, plastic toy guns that have appeared on town streets in the past two days are so realistic that they could put any youngster who has one in real danger.
The danger, said Chief Harold Valentine, comes from the size, shape and color of the toy gun that mimics a real police handgun and in the dark could be mistaken for a real weapon.
"Our worst fear," said Sgt. Barry Young," is that we get a call from a resident about a person with a handgun, and we show up full force. Some kid could get killed."
The toy guns also fire a hard, solid plastic pellet that left one child bleeding after he was shot by his friend, Young said.
He said that toys can be considered real weapons because they are spring loaded and fire a hard pellet.
State law defines a firearm as "any hand gun, rifle shotgun, machine gun, automatic or semi-automatic rifle" from which "any solid projectable ball, slug, pellet, missile or bullet" may be fired. The definition includes, "without limitation," weapons that use air, springs, elastic bands, carbon dioxide, compressed or other gas or vapor to fire a projectile with enough force to injure a person.
Police confiscated nine of the toys by Thursday, and three more were taken from students at Dover Middle School.
The toys were sold at Guang Fa, a dollar store on East Blackwell Street. Police said 20 of the toys had been sold. Sgt. Bryan Flammia said police took three toy guns from children outside the store Thursday.
A clerk at the store who did not give her name said the store owner was meeting with police Thursday evening.
The toy is called a LaGieao Air Sport Gun. It sells for $2.11. It fires 6-mm, hard plastic pellets that are sold in a separate bag of 100. The toy is imprinted with the name Thomas Sinber 1.5 ACP. The name of a company, AJ Oponance, Covina, Calif., is also imprinted on it.
The bag of pellets carries the legend: "Real high grade hop-up air gun." The package said the toys are not intended for children under 14. Police said youths from 11 to 16 were carrying the guns.
The first one was confiscated from a boy at the Dover carnival Wednesday night, Flammia said. Two others were taken from a pair of youths who were firing at one another from opposite sides of Route 46, which was filled with cars, he said.
"What were the people in those cars thinking?" Flammia wondered.
The size makes the toy easy to conceal, Valentine said. As he spoke, Young slipped one into his waistband so only the black handle was exposed. Even up close it looked like a real gun.
"Imagine that from a distance or in the dark," Valentine said.
In addition, Valentine said, the toy gun features a loading action and magazine that mimics that of real guns. He snapped the bolt on one back and dropped the magazine from the handle with the push of a small button. The moves looked real.
The toys are a dull gold, but Flammia said he was told that some youths are painting them black to heighten the sense of reality. That only increases the danger, he said. He placed his Glock 27 handgun beside one of the toys. They were the same size and shape.
Michael Daigle can be reached at [email protected] or (973) 989-0652.
