Make no mistake - this is a tragic story. A kid brought an air-soft gun to school, apparently to impress, intimidate, or whatever. He took it WAY too far, as evidenced by painting over the orange barrel tip in an effort to make the pistol appear real.
It worked.
The kid created a situation. He waved the gun around like it was real. A SWAT officer had to shoot him. I read an account where the officer even rode in the ambulance with the kid, talking to him all the way. The kid died today. I expect that police officer will have a very hard time of this.
Now, enter our media. Look at the hyperbole they put on this:
Last week, a fourth-grader in San Bernardino brought a similar gun to school and sprayed plastic pellets at his classmates during recess. No lives were lost, but some of the students hit had bruises."No lives were lost." Mercy. They are toys that shoot plastic pellets. Plain and simple. They sting a little, but are not capable of lethal damage.
There's no waiting period, no background check, no license needed to own one of these guns -- but even retailers say they should not be considered toys. They look, feel and operate like the real thing. The difference is, these guns aren't lethal -- although some say they are still dangerous.
There's no doubt that some toys can look like the real thing. However, bad intent is just that: bad intent.
This incident will serve as the nexus for a much more insidious movement: let's ban toy guns. It'll make banning the real thing that much easier.
Don't be fooled, folks.
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