Crime & Safety
Middle Schoolers Shot By Orbeez: 3 Juveniles Arrested In Auburn
Orbeez gel balls — a fixture of viral internet videos — were shot from a car at middle school students, Auburn police said.
AUBURN, MA — Three Auburn juveniles were arrested Wednesday and charged with assault after they fired gel balls from a car at middle school students, according to police.
According to police, three teens used an Orbeez gel gun to fire the soft, squishy orbs at Auburn Middle School students while they exited school buses Wednesday afternoon. The orb shootings happened in a neighborhood off Bryn Mawr Drive near the Oxford Street intersection.
Auburn police launched a full-scale investigation, tracking down video evidence and witness accounts, which led them to a white sedan parked at Auburn High School. Inside the vehicle, they found a teen — and the Orbeez gun full of orange gel balls.
"He quickly admitted to what had occurred and also was able to identify the others involved," Auburn police said.
The three teens are facing nine counts each of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, police said.
Orbeez can be purchased as semi-hard balls that, once soaked in water, swell several times their size and become squishy. They explode on contact, and have been used in countless viral internet videos.
