Police: Defaced BB Guns Can Pose Safety Risk

Police in Round Lake Beach are asking residents and parents not to allow BB guns to be defaced to make them look more like real handguns as they could be a safety risk when officers are called to a weapons-related complaint.

In particular, police said the orange tip on the BB guns should not be removed or tampered with.

“An officer being confronted by a weapon such as these has only moments to determine a course of action, and the orange safety tips can help determine that decision,” said Michael Scott, Round Lake Beach Police Department Deputy Chief of Police. “Intentionally defacing or removing them puts everyone’s safety at risk.”

That is what happened on Thursday at 11:13 p.m. when police received a report from a resident who was alarmed after seeing several people running while carrying handguns in the area of Mayfield Drive and Fairfield Road. The group fled to a nearby apartment complex, the caller, who believed the group may have just committed an armed robbery, told police.

Numerous Round Lake Beach police officers responded to the scene due to the reported presence of several subjects with firearms, according to a police department press release. Officers were able to locate the subjects and it was determined they were carrying BB guns that were life-like replicas of actual handguns and which had the orange safety tips colored black.

Dejimon Brooks, 18, of Chicago, and 16-year-old resident from Dolton, Ill., were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following the incident.

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