Minnesota Woman Pulls Pellet Gun on Muslim Couple

Local news

The attacker, a “self-appointed watchwoman” named Nancy Kay Knoble, began pounding on the car’s windows and doors, and commanding the Abumayalehs to get out of the vehicle. And that’s when Knoble took out her pellet gun. The couple she was threatening, however, didn’t know the firearm wasn’t a more powerful model.

“She pulled the rifle and said open the window or I’ll shoot you guys,” Adly Abumayaleh tells local news station KARE. Fearful, the Abumayalehs complied. The couple exited the vehicle and, while Knoble held her gun to Adly’s back, the trio approached the house where the Abumayalehs’ son was spending time with friends.

As promised, the Abumayalehs’ child was where they said he would be and Knoble, satisfied that the family was not a threat severe enough to keep holding at gunpoint, “backed off,” according to KARE.

But the Abumayaleh family was shaken. “I thought, I am going to die this night,” Majida says tearfully.

Police arrested Knoble at her home nearby and recovered the crime scene pellet gun.

LAPD Officer Shoots Teen Standing Next To Someone Holding Replica Gun

Huffington Post

Authorities say a Los Angeles police officer shot and wounded a 15-year-old boy in the back after spotting him in an alley standing near someone holding what appeared to be a gun.

Sgt. Frank Preciado said early Thursday that what the officer thought was a weapon turned out to be a replica handgun.

The boy was transported to a hospital and released to his mother the same day.

Two officers spotted a teenager pointing what they thought was a gun at another person Tuesday morning.

Preciado says officers ordered the boy to drop the weapon. When he didn't comply, one of the officers opened fire.

The teen holding the replica weapon wasn't hurt, but the boy standing next to him was struck.

No arrests have been made.

Cleveland Cops Shoot Boy, 12, Carrying 'Airsoft' Toy Gun

NBC

Cleveland police shot and wounded a 12-year-old boy who was allegedly carrying an "airsoft" toy gun at a recreation center, police said. The 12-year-old was shot in the torso and was in surgery Saturday, police said in a statement, and two officers were placed on administrative leave.

Police said the officers were responding to a report of a person waving a gun around at a playground at the Cudell Recreation Center at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and the boy was shot after he refused to put his hands up and reached in his waistband for what appeared to be a handgun.

The handgun turned out to be an "airsoft" replica toy gun, which shoots pellets in a similar way that a BB gun does. Cleveland police said in a statement that an orange marking designed to make the toys distinguishable from real firearms had been removed. Police said the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and police are investigating the shooting.

Michigan bills loosen regulations on air guns

Local news reports

Michigan lawmakers are passing legislation intended to loosen regulations on BB and pellet guns.

The National Rifle Association says Michigan has outdated and “unduly burdensome” restraints on the purchase and possession of most air guns. Backers of an eight-bill package say it would bring Michigan in line with federal standards.

The legislation would redefine the term “firearm” to exclude guns that propel a projectile by gas, spring or air.

One bill approved 102-6 by the House Wednesday would repeal a law making it a misdemeanor for a minor to possess a BB gun unless accompanied by an adult. A Senate-passed bill pending in the House would generally prohibit local governments from regulating ownership of paintball and BB guns.

Municipalities could limit their use to authorized locations or on private property.

Toy Gun or Real Gun? Wal-Mart Fatal Shooting has Ohio Lawmaker Inspired

Protesters rally in Beavercreek earlier this week following the shooting death of John Crawford III by police last month. Federal officials announced Wednesday they will review Crawford's death after a Greene County grand jury said the officers' actions were justified. (AP Photo/The Daily News, Ty Greenlees)

Cleveland dot com

A state lawmaker says he wants to explore potential ways to help first responders tell the difference between weapons and toy guns following the fatal shooting of a man by police inside an Ohio Wal-Mart this summer.

Republican Rep. Rick Perales of Beavercreek told The Dayton Daily News he is open to ideas about preventing incidents like the Aug. 5 shooting in his hometown.

A special grand jury in the racially charged case has decided that the Beavercreek police officers' actions were justified. Police responded to a 911 call that a man was waving what appeared to be a rifle. Officers have said John Crawford III, who was black, was shot after he didn't respond to repeated commands to drop his weapon.

It turned out to be an air rifle. Crawford, 22, had been talking on a cellphone and carrying the air rifle he picked up from a shelf as he walked through the store.

The newspaper reports that there are no state regulations for the use and sale of air rifles, BB guns and others that resemble deadly rifles. Federal rules require airsoft guns -- which are different from air rifles -- to be sold with an orange tip to avoid confusion with real guns. But that regulation does not apply to BB or pellet guns.

Republican Rep. Wes Retherford of Hamilton called the Wal-Mart incident in Beavercreek an "isolated" event. He said the private sector should decide how to package and sell such merchandise.

"If we're going to start locking everything up that poses a potential risk, that would be a lot more items locked up than just a BB gun," Retherford told the newspaper. "Eventually, you're going to be locking up everything in the store."

Virginia 4-Year-old Dead from Accidental Pellet Gun Shot - No Charges - It Was Just an Accident

8NEWS - WRIC | News Where You Live

After extensive interviews and in consultation with the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, detectives have determined the shooting death of a 4 year old to be a tragic accident.

The investigation has determined that Geonna Bradley, 4, of the 1500 block of Mechanicsville Turnpike, was accidentally shot in the chest by another juvenile with a pellet rifle. Bradley was transported to the VCU Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.

No charges will be filed in this case.

Oklahoma 12-Year-old Shot in the Head with Pellet Gun Dies

Local news reports


A 12-year-old boy died Saturday after being shot in the head with a pellet gun.

Justin Ingle, 12, was taken to a McAlester hospital Friday after being shot and was flown to a Tulsa hospital where he died Saturday.

“Two boys were playing with a high-powered pellet gun, and one boy pulled the trigger and hit the other in the head,” Pittsburg County Sheriff Joel Kerns said.

Ingle’s mother was at home when the shooting happened but was in another room, Kerns said. She rushed the boy to the hospital in her own car after he was shot.

Mississippi Pellet Gun Death - No Charges - It Was Just an Accident

Local news reports

A 6-year old girl has been confirmed dead after what investigators are calling an apparent accidental shooting in her family's home in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

She was rushed to Southwest Regional Medical Center in Mccomb where she passed around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, shortly after her 13-year old brother untimely discharged his pellet gun inside the home.

Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Rushing spoke with WLBT TV regarding the incident, and confirmed that no charges have been filed up to this point.

California Police Shoot and Kill a 13-Year-old Boy With Replica Assault Rifle

Andy Lopez was shot dead by a Santa Rosa police officer as he walked down the street carrying a pellet gun modelled on an assault rifle. Photograph: AP/The Press Democrat

The Guardian

A 13-year-old California boy carrying a replica of an assault rifle to a friend's house was shot dead by a sheriff's deputy who believed the gun was real, authorities have said.

Lieutenant Paul Henry, who is investigating the incident for the Santa Rosa police department, said two Sonoma county sheriff's deputies had been patrolling a street near the boy's home on Tuesday when they saw him walking with what appeared to be an assault weapon in his left hand.

One of the deputies, who did not immediately realise that the person he was seeing from behind was a child, shouted twice: "Put down the gun," according to Henry and a police statement.

"The subject turned toward the deputies, and as he was doing that the barrel of the weapon was rising toward the deputies," Henry said. The deputy then fired rounds, killing the boy.

More on the Toy Gun Hysteria

I agree with everything he says except the inference that these few examples somehow represent the gun control movement at large.  That's just not the case.  I'm all for restrictions and even bans on realistic-looking toy guns and replica weapons, but the examples given here are nothing short of hysteria.

On the other hand, isn't it a bit contradictory to imply that teachers in the nanny state are like this, generally speaking, and at the same time suggest that arming teachers is the solution?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

6-Year-Old South Carolina Girl Expelled for a Toy Gun Allowed Back in School

Raw Story reports

A 6-year-old South Carolina girl will be allowed back in school after being expelled early in January for bringing a toy gun for “show and tell,” school officials said Thursday.

Naomi McKinney was expelled from Alice Drive Elementary in Sumter, S.C. on Jan. 7. “I chose to bring it to school because I thought I could show my friends it because they might like seeing it,” she told a reporter.

Her father Hank objected to the decision as well, saying that pencils are more dangerous than the clear, plastic water gun Naomi brought to school. “I know there is a lot going on with guns and schools and that is tragic, but a six year old bringing a toy to school doesn’t know better,” he said.

Naomi’s initial expulsion banned her from school grounds for the rest of the school year, but the county’s schools superintendent said Thursday that he would overrule the decision he had previously affirmed.

Toy Guns in Mexico

RT reports with video

In a fight to bring down the crime rate in Mexico’s capital city, police have destroyed thousands of toy guns to stop them from becoming a real threat on the streets.

Mexico City Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera announced that officials estimate at least three of every 10 violent crimes in Mexico City are carried out with a real-looking toy gun. He said this was enough justification to destroy the seven thousand replica weapons.

Shops bore the brunt of the government's decision as toy items were seized by the police in the capital and the surrounding state. Sunday is Three Kings Day, when Mexican children receive holiday gifts. 

Mexico has strict laws on gun ownership that require toy weapons be made of transparent or colored plastic. 

You know what I say about these realistic-looking toys, don't you?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Toy Guns Lead to Gun Crime and Antisocial Behavior

The Derbyshire Times reports

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Charles is asking families and charities not to give youngsters realistic-looking toy guns this Christmas.

His call comes in support of an appeal by the Gun Control Network amid concerns that many children have already received toy and BB guns – which fire small plastic or aluminium balls – as gifts from Santa.

Mr Charles said: “While most toy guns are harmless, BB guns can cause considerable damage if fired irresponsibly. There’s also a strong argument that giving toy and BB guns to youngsters can lead to future gun crime and antisocial behaviour.”

He's in England, what does he know?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Modern Toy Guns Ain't What They Used to Be

Local news reports - Ban them sumbitches says I.

The Problem of Realistic-looking Toy Guns

(left real, right fake)



 The Times Herald reports

For gun lovers and criminals alike, replica gun manufacturers' trend toward ever-more realistic-looking guns is a boon.


In California, while "Airsoft" guns are sold with bright orange muzzle markings, full-body colored paint or clear, BB and pellet guns are exempt from special paint requirements, because, manufacturers say, they are not toys and should not be marked as such.

Three retail store owners in the greater Vallejo area contacted for this article in recent weeks said they no longer carried the realistic-looking guns. Two others declined requests to be interviewed.

In Vallejo, twice in less than four months, police have fired -- fatally -- on people allegedly carrying and/or wielding such replica guns.

The pro-gun folks, the contentious and disagreeable ones anyway, insist that this problem does not exist. They say there's no difference between the toy guns of today and those of years ago.

Doesn't it sometimes seem that gun-rights advocates become a bit defensive whenever we suggest gun control?  What are they afraid of?  Do they really think if they give even one inch we'll take a mile?

How about if we start out with the mile.  Let's ban realistic-looking replica guns outright.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Petition to Ban Realistic-looking Toy Guns

Sign the petition to ban realistic toy guns, or as I once poetically put it, ban them sumbitches.

Another Toy Gun Shooting by the Police

SF Gate reports

I'm sorry, but I can believe that a small time drug dealer carries an air-soft gun to make it look like he's armed to his customers, but I can't believe that he drew the toy gun on the police.

To me this sounds like another case of the cops being trigger-happy and then trying to cover it up.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Real Guns Inside Toy Guns

Delmarva Now reports on the latest craze in criminal carry.   Concealing a real gun inside a toy guy is pretty ingenious.  Of course now that the cops are catching on to it, there'll certainly be more incidents.

"If you see a kid in a bathing suit who's running down the street carrying one of those he's likely not converted it," Shipley said. "If you see a guy while responding to a bank for an alarm, it's important to know he may have converted it from a water gun."

Shipley said situations like this are "just another example of why it's tough to be a police officer."

What's your opinion? When I said "ban them sumbitches," I was referring to the realistic looking guns that can easily be mistaken for the real thing. What do we do about these?

Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Tennessee Student with Air Soft Gun - Juvenile Charges Possible

Local news reports

It happened on Monday morning as students were waiting at the bus stop to go to Gene Brown Elementary School. 

Police said a young student offered to show the gun to another female student. She declined, he pulled it out anyway fired it several times and one of the plastic projectiles hit her in the head. 

School officials said that the boy who brought the gun would be with a delinquent juvenile offense.

This is the second time in a week airsoft guns have caused problems for area schools. Last Wednesday, two teenagers were arrested for firing at an Overton High School bus in Nashville.

The reason I say ban them sumbitches is because the police often respond to reports involving these so-called toy guns. In some cases kids get shot by the police as a result.

But, today's story points out another reason why.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Norfolk Man Shot Holding Toy Gun for the 2nd Time - This Time He's Dead

The Daily Press reports

A man who was shot to death in a standoff with Virginia Beach police over the weekend was pointing a toy machine gun at the officers who shot him, according to an investigation by police.

Daniel Guy Newcomb, a 33-year-old Norfolk resident, was a suspect in an armed robbery when he was confronted by officers on Saturday afternoon. He was shot during the standoff in the 300 block of South Witchduck Road and later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that this was the second time that Newcomb had been shot by police officers while threatening them with a replica gun. The newspaper reports that in 2009, he was shot during a standoff with Norfolk police officers while wielding a starter's pistol.

What's your opinion? Can the police be faulted for mistaking that toy gun for the real thing? If not, then here's my solution.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.