Two months after an Akron police officer shot a youth allegedly in possession of a fake gun, authorities were involved in another incident involving teens playing with fake guns.
This time no violence was used.
Akron police responded to the 400 block of Storer Avenue at 4:37 p.m. Sunday after a 911 caller reported seeing armed men wearing masks in the area. Officers found a group of juveniles near Storer and Stadelman avenues playing with toy guns. One of the toy guns, an Orbeez Gel Gun, was discarded on the ground.
According to police, the toy gun was spray-painted black and made to look real.
“We urge citizens, especially teenagers, not to spray paint or otherwise alter toy guns in a manner that could easily be confused with a real firearm,” Akron police wrote in a statement.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com or on Twitter @athompsonABJ
This article originally appeared in the Akron Beacon Journal: Police respond to toy gun scare in West Akron Sunday afternoon
