Spate of gel gun incidents force Staffordshire Police to issue warning
Staffordshire Police are warning people not to use toy gel guns irresponsibly after a spate of incidents across the county.
Due to the toy guns' realistic appearance the force's tactical firearms unit have been called out after residents mistakenly thought they were real.
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "We are issuing a warning following recent incidents involving so-called toy gel guns across Staffordshire recently. Over the last two months, we have dealt with 10 incidents involving gel guns being used in an anti-social manner.
"They are typically sold as toys and are used to shoot pellets made of gel and water. Due to their appearance, we’ve had a number of reports where they have been mistaken and reported to us as actual firearms – prompting us to send armed officers to the scene to investigate."
There have also been reports people are using them to deliberately cause panic and alarm by shooting them at strangers.
Inspector Mark Burslem said: “While using these types of toy gun may seem like a bit of fun, we would like to emphasise the risk involved in using them publicly and the disruption it has caused to both the force and local communities.
“They can be easily mistaken for real firearms and are still capable of causing injury to people if they are used recklessly.
“We don’t tolerate people deliberately causing panic and alarm within our communities and those who are using them in an anti-social manner are likely to face arrest."
