Originally Posted by Bagshot85:
“Similar thing happened in our town. Teenage boy was messing around with a very obvious looking water gun, when some moron rang the police. Next thing you know....there's a massive operation going on by armed police. It was all very exciting for me as a young teenager, who was annoyed my parents wouldn't let me anywhere near it. Police broke into the flat above the busy town centre shops, to find a rather surprised teenage boy in sweatpants. However, what if that young boy had been shot? As he too was first described as threatening passers-bys with a gun.”
I think some people must lead such miserable, boring existences that they leap at the chance to create a bit of drama and excitement by phoning the police to exaggeratedly report 'someone running amok, armed with a gun', despite it being clearly obvious it's just a kid messing about. A very brief assessment of the body language, facial expressions etc of those involved should be enough to enable anyone with at least half a brain cell to differentiate between it being a genuine situation or not. Still, I guess as long as there are morons who get their jollies by phoning the police and there are innocent kids messing around with toy guns, we can only hope and pray the police never get their initial assessment of the situation wrong and shoot an innocent young lad.
There had been another incident nearby a year or two earlier, in which a man was shot and killed by armed police in broad daylight. However, they were aware he had already shot his girlfriend in the arm at home, before going outside and threatening other people (including a 14yo girl on her way home from school). He refused to obey the armed police's order to drop the gun and ended up with a bullet in his neck iirc.
Originally Posted by EvieJ:
“Sounds horrendous for you, I think I'd have been the same.
I think was handled appropriately though. I bet he won't do that again!”
I'm glad in a way I was out when it happened, as it would have undoubtedly have been me who answered the door and it would have been just as much as a shock to me to have seen a load of guns pointed at me, as it was to my son - I'd have probably fainted! I certainly wouldn't have realised they were there because of a prank my son had played an hour or two earlier, even though I would have had a go at him at the time as it did make a right racket when it was fired, but I just wouldn't have made the connection due to the amount of time that had passed between then and the police turning up.
I think the police did handle it well. I think they were more pi$$ed off with the time-waster who had made the call in the first place. I didn't mind them confiscating the air-gun either, like I said, it made such a racket I was happy to see the back of it!