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Teens arrested for South End robberies; police say they used BB guns shaped like real weapons
By adamg on Sun, 03/29/2015 - 3:48pm
Boston Police report arresting three teens - two 15 and one 13 - for one of the armed holdups in the South End last night.
Police say officers alerted by radio to a robbery near Titus Sparrow Park around 10:10 p.m. found three guys matching the description of the robbers on Massachusetts Avenue near Huntington.
Officers were able to recover two face masks as well as a Comrade AK-47 Machine Gun styled BB gun and a Comrade Semiautomatic Handgun styled BB gun.
The three juveniles were charged as being delinquent for committing armed assault with intent to rob, police say.
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Comments
jesus.
jesus.
Compare that handgun to a
Compare that handgun to a walther p22. Difference is minimal when seconds to make a decision matter.
Toy guns should not look anything like the real thing
I know, right?
I mean, why would anybody manufacture these? Seems like a recipe for disaster.
Airsoft is huge in Japan,
Airsoft is huge in Japan, where firearm ownership is virtually illegal. These realistic BB guns (they shoot plastic pellets) have filled the void, and are used similar to paintball guns. They have caught on here for the same purpose. They often come with an orange tip to distinguish from real, but easily painted or removed.
Very close but no.
The pistol shoots metal BBs and also .177 pellets. It's a Crosman C11:
http://www.crosman.com/c11-pistol-177
Look at the zoomed in images. It states clearly on the barrel: "Not a toy"...
Not a toy.
Right. Mine is apparently a C-11, but it says 'Phantom' on the right side. Everything else is identical.
Oh, I would never carry it in any way where I could be totally justifiably killed by someone with an LTC or a cop.
These are airsoft guns, they
These are airsoft guns, they shoot little plastic pellets that would not even break skin. They are designed to look very realistic though and an uneducated person could easily confuse them with the real thing.
I am glad the police got these little thugs off of the street, but as juveniles they will probably not receive any serious punishment unfortunately.
I know what they are
The problem isn't that they are airsoft guns.
The problem is that they look like much more hardcore weaponry and could result in some pretty nasty action with real guns.
That was my point - why are they manufactured as replica weaponry. Not why are they manufactured at all. Perhaps airsoft "weapons" need to be marked similar to toy guns now?
It's not an airsoft.
The pistol is a Crosman Phantom BB gun. It has a magazine that slides in from the bottom of the pistol grip.The mag holds about fifteen BB pellets. There is a CO2 canister in the grip also. I'm looking at one on my desk right now. They are identical. You can see the Crosman target logo on the grip. The grip slides straight back to replace the CO2 canister.
It shoots BB pellets, not airsoft pellets. Your eye is a little sandwich baggie full of Jello. All Red Ryder jokes aside, they really don't mix. Oh, Wally mart, twenty bucks. Not really accurate, but cheap and fun to shoot.
Don't know a thing about the AK replica.
There is a very thin line
There is a very thin line between Airsoft and metal pellet guns. Many Airsoft weapons are made to be very believable replicas. You can get all-metal rifles. You can get gas- and electronic-powered semi- and full-auto. I have a spring-fired (have to cock it for each shot) Beretta with a weight in the handle - it's really hard to tell Airsoft weapons apart from real weapons unless you're really experienced and even then, if you're close enough.
You must be 18 to own one and they have to have an orange tip. By painting or removing the orange tips these guys violated a federal law.
Orange tips are only a
Orange tips are only a Federal requirement for shipping and/or sale of "replica" weapons. It is not illegal to remove them. It already applies to airsoft, pellet and toy guns. These aren't airsoft guns but rather Crosman pellet guns. We could go the NYC route and ban airsoft guns within city limits but that would have almost zero affect. Instead of getting these at Walmart or Army Barracks they would just be able to buy them online.
and the AK
Compare that AK replica to an AKS-74U: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/AKS-74U.jpg (the stock on that one folds). Pretty close, and, again, very difficult to tell apart at a moment's notice in a stressful, life-or-death situation.
Kids are...
...very very stupid, and lucky to be alive.
Question for Adam or those in the Court system
To Adam or others who may have experience as reporters or within the court system;
Is there a good way to follow cases like these, to find out when (I expect) the kids end up back on the street?
We can set up Google News Alerts for some cases, but I assume as Juveniles, we won't know these names.
I'm asking this just as a Boston resident that's frustrated by cases like Officer Moynihan, where the suspect was not only involved in a past shootings, but a long rap sheet of violent crimes, all his buddies were on parole, yet they were still rollin' around looking for more trouble.
Pretty much out of luck. I'm
Pretty much out of luck. I'm almost 100% certain that unless the juvenile is charged as a youthful offender (homicide or inflicted serious bodily harm) I don't think you'll be able to easily follow the case.
Boston has a decent number of juveniles arrested for carrying real firearms. So while this might be shocking to you, you'd be surprised to see the number of kids possessing real ones.
The law is that use of
The law is that use of replica firearms in a crime is treated the same as if real firearms were used in a crime. These kids would be facing serious consequences if it weren't for a weak kneed judiciary.
juvenile cases are not public
The parents and the victim are the only people that will be informed of court dates and release. If the guns were real, then the DA will take the case to a grand jury and indict the juveniles as youthful offenders. In those cases, the juveniles are treated as adults, and the public has access.
Wow
These kids are lucky they didn't get shot by someone with a real firearm. Pointing guns at people is not a joke. Sadly, they probably won't learn their lesson as they're kicked free.