Masked Gunman Turns Out to Be East Bay Teen with Airsoft Rifle: Police

SAN RAMON, CA — The frantic call came in to the San Ramon Police Department’s dispatch center about an hour after most residents had returned home from a long day at work and were likely cleaning up the dinner dishes. Less than 24 hours after a man was carjacked by armed suspects in his Danville garage, a San Ramon woman called 911 to report a masked gunman wearing all black, carrying a “large, black gun” while walking around near her home, police officials said.

Her voice quivered at times as she struggled to keep calm and get her children away from the front door.

"Hurry, hurry! He's gonna... He's got..." the out-of-breath caller says to the dispatcher.

Armed with only the information given by the caller and their training, the officers responded to the quiet residential area to search for a possible gunman. When they arrived, they discovered the masked man in the bushes of a nearby home and ordered him to come out unarmed.

“Officers quickly determined the person, who was 14 years old, was playing Airsoft rifle games with four of his friends, who were all between 12 to 14 years old,” police officials said.

In the wake of recent deadly police shootings from across the country, police officials shared audio of the call and photos of the weapons recovered from the juvenile, mixed in with real weapons, in an effort to share the perspective of the officers' response to those types of potentially deadly calls. Police officials urge parents to talk to their children about safe use of Airsoft guns.

Police ask, "What would you do if one of these weapons was pointed at you, a loved one, or anyone?"

Photo, video embed courtesy San Ramon Police Department Facebook page