Two Teens Face Felony Charges After Airsoft Assault

MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. — Airsoft guns are at the center of a debate in Medical Lake after two boys face felony charges for shooting other teens with the guns.

Some Airsoft guns look more like toys, but some look almost exactly like an actual handgun. But these “fake” guns are causing real problems.

Such was the case in Medical Lake last Friday; that’s where two teenagers in a grocery store parking lot fired their Airsoft guns at a car full of teenagers several feet away.

No one was hurt, but minutes later the Medical Lake Police showed up. The two young men who fired at the teens, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old, were charged with three counts of Felony Assault.

“If you take an Airsoft gun and shoot somebody that didn’t want to be shot, that’s felony assault,” said Sgt. Dave Reagan with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s as simple as that.”

Parents say the two charged are good kids, that they were just messing around when they shot the other teens with the plastic bullets.

“They look like real guns,” said Sgt. Reagan. “Because they do look so realistic they are unlawful to have on school property.”

But Sheriff Deputies say the scenario could have caused real fear and worse off, could have ended in a far different manner.

“We’re gonna end up killing somebody that displays an Airsoft pistol,” said Sgt Reagan.

Deputies say in a split-second, on a roadside at night, they may not be able to tell the difference between what’s “real” and what’s “fake”.

Airsoft guns have been reportedly used in armed robberies and road rage incidents. Deputies say the guns look so real they can fool people.

“There’s not an officer down here that wants to shoot a child mistaking it for a gun,” said Reagan. “But none of us wants to get shot assuming its a toy.”

A couple of years ago, Spokane police shot at a young man a couple of years ago brandishing what looked like a handgun. Officers discovered it was only an air pistol.