The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives categorizes them as "toy guns", but many of today's airsoft guns look like the real thing. With the popularity of these guns, more and more communities are seeing them on the streets and the outcome could be deadly.
In January of this year, a Brownsville Texas middle school student was shot and killed by police when he was brandishing a gun and refusing to obey commands in the hall at his school. It was later determined that the gun he had was a pellet gun. This incident prompted some dialogue between a Wapakoneta middle school student, the city council, and the police chief. They are working together to figure out how to get young adults to understand that owning an airsoft gun is not just fun and games.
Many airsoft guns are looking more and more identical to real guns, and more importantly can a police officer tell the difference it the heat of the moment? Many of these guns function and weigh similar to an actual firearm. Wapakoneta Police Chief Ross Hunlock stresses that if a police officer says put the gun down, just do it. Wapakoneta has had an ordinance on the books since the 1970's that prohibits the firing of B. B. guns and other weapons that shoot a projectile within the city.
