When a firearm is pointed at them, police officers can’t take the chance the gun may only be a replica.
With several recent incidents involving replica firearms like pellet or air soft guns, including an incident last Thursday when a 15-year-old Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute student was charged with possession of a weapon after bringing an air soft gun to school, Thunder Bay Police Service is urging people to use the guns only as intended.
“We have had incidents locally as well as around the province and North America where there are repercussions that end up costing somebody’s life,” said Sgt. Greg Stein. “We need to educate the community, educate the people that are purchasing these items, giving them as gifts, using them, so they use them appropriately and don’t cause unnecessary responses from the police.”
Replica firearms have become an increasingly dangerous issues as the look of the guns have evolved from looking like obvious replicas to now becoming more realistic looking.
Stein said if people are using the guns for their intended purpose with the proper safety gear, that’s fine. But people have been using the replicas to commit robberies or bringing them to schools.
People need to be aware there are consequences.
“Police officers have to make a judgment call and unless you have that piece in your hand and you’re able to examine it to prove that it is (real) or isn’t, you’re not going to take that chance,” said Stein.
“It’s not worth losing your life or someone else losing their life,” he said. “Unfortunately we’re in the business where sometimes you have to take a life to save a life. It’s not nice to say, but it’s the reality of it. You have to make that decision and you have to live with that decision.”
“If you find out after the fact it wasn’t a real firearm, that’s a pretty tough decision for somebody to have to live with and it’s happened numerous times across the province,” Stein added.
Although a person has to be 18 years old to purchase an air soft gun, the law around the weapons is muddied, said Stein.
“The difficulty is that firearms don’t hurt people. People using firearms hurt people. It’s fine to have safety rules but unless you practice those safety rules, they really don’t mean anything,” he said.
“People have to realize it is 2012 now and if you have something that looks like a firearm, it’s likely people are going to believe it’s a firearm,” he added.
Lakehead Public Schools’ education officer Charlie Bishop said the fate of the student involved in last week’s incident hadn’t been decided yet; it would be decided after a conversation with the teen and would be based on a number of factors.
The consequences for bringing a replica firearm to school is determined on a case-by-case basis.
A student using the firearm at school would face more severe consequences than a student that just had it in their backpack.
About six years ago the school board had a couple of incidents involving students using air soft guns in schools when they first became popular. Bishop said at that time they issued information to parents that the guns were not allowed in school.
Since that time, they’ve had only a few incidents. But the school board does treat them as weapons.
“Around that time when they were first being brought into the schools and kids were being shot with them, they were quite dangerous and certainly leave a mark and certainly the threat of causing some permanent damage if a person was hit in the eye with them,” said Bishop.
“We treat them very seriously and certainly there is no room from them in school,” he added.
