TikTok Trend May Have Inspired Shootings In Banning, Beaumont: Police

BANNING, CA — Two men and three juveniles suspected of shooting at vehicles in the Pass Area were possibly inspired by a viral TikTok trend, the Banning Police Department announced Monday.

Joseph Marc Anthony Gastelum, 18, and Jaden Rivir Sanchez, 20, and the three minors were taken into custody Thursday evening. The arrests came after Banning police officers went to the area of Malki Road and Seminole Drive in unincorporated Cabazon around 6:30 p.m. that night to assist the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, California Highway Patrol, and Morongo Tribal Police with reports of people shooting from a vehicle.

Several victims said they were shot at with possible BB guns, including one person reporting she was assaulted in the parking lot near Hobby Lobby at 300 S. Highland Springs Avenue, according to police.

Law enforcement made a traffic stop on a suspect vehicle and inside found Gastelum, Sanchez, and three juveniles ages 15 to 17.

"The occupants were in possession of four SplatRBall blasters and one loaded Polymer80 unregistered 'Ghost Gun,'" according to the Banning Police Department. "The investigation revealed that the subjects were driving through Banning, Beaumont and Cabazon, using the SplatRBall blasters to commit assaults on citizens in the area. It is believed that the activity could be related to a recent TikTok trend occurring in several areas across the country."

According to various news reports, a social media trend named the #OrbeezChallenge calls on people to shoot unsuspecting victims with gel pellets from toy guns like the SplatRBall blasters. The challenge is named after the gel pellets themselves.

As for the alleged ghost gun found in the suspects' vehicle, the weapon is an ongoing issue in Banning and across the nation, according to police. Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that can be bought online and assembled at home, and they shoot actual bullets. Ghost guns are illegal in California.

Nevada-based Polymer80 is one of the largest manufacturers of do-it-yourself ghost gun kits in the country. The company has been at the center of several civil lawsuits, including pending cases brought by the cities of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., which accuse the company of disregarding state and federal gun laws.

Gastelum remained jailed Monday at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm and carrying an unregistered firearm, both felonies. He was also booked on suspicion of discharging a firearm in a negligent manner and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both misdemeanors.

Gastelum is due in court Tuesday and was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail, according to jail records.

Sanchez was released on $5,000 bail the day of his arrest after being booked into the Banning facility on misdemeanor charges.

Information about the three juveniles was unavailable.