SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — In a desperate plea to parents and the community, Shaker Heights Police Commander John Cole is issuing an important safety notice after he says the department has seen an increase in juveniles carrying and brandishing replica weapons.
“They're dangerous and of course the consequence, we don't want to have a deadly consequence,” said Commander John Cole of the Shaker Heights Police Department.
While on patrol just last week, Cole says officers came across three young men carrying what he said appeared to be assault rifles near Shaker Town Center on Lee Road and Chagrin Boulevard, where we found Sally Hendricks shopping on Monday evening.
“You need to monitor something that can take a life,” said Hendricks.
Cole says officers later confiscated those weapons and eventually learned they were M4 carbine paintball guns.
“It was very dangerous not only to those people carrying the guns, but it was dangerous to the surrounding public,” said Cole.
This isn’t the first time News 5 has reported on the dangers of fake guns.
Earlier this year, in April, University Circle police told News 5 they took a replica Glock and a real extended magazine off of a 17-year-old during an attempted stolen car case.
RELATED LINK: University Circle Police chief wants to start tracking fake guns
One week earlier, the City of Akron released body cam video, which revealed an Akron Police officer shooting and striking a teenager in the hand immediately after he drove up to the scene and saw the teen had what was later determined to be a fake gun.
RELATED LINK: Body camera footage shows Akron officer shoot teen who had fake gun
National Law Enforcement Procedures and Security Expert Tim Dimoff tells News 5 he believes several factors are causing this uptick.
“It’s either, an ego thing or, it's a protection thing because they want people to think they're armed so that, they, they don't get attacked, or have aggression towards themselves,” said Dimoff.
“We have to teach them what this means,” said Cole.
At the time, News 5 spoke to Commander Cole, he said those charges were still pending for the three juveniles.
But he said the plan is to present this case to a juvenile prosecutor.
