On 5/15/12 at approximately 3:10PM Billerica Police Officers responded to the area of Nolte Rd for a complaint of youths brandishing firearms.  Upon arrival the Officers ordered the youths to drop the firearms. Fortunately, the orders were complied with and the Officers determined the firearms to be “Airsoft” guns.  When purchased, these guns have a brightly colored “cap” at the end of the barrel.  In this case, both guns had those caps removed.

After a brief investigation, it was determined that the six boys, ages 13-15, were working on “school project” and didn’t realize the possible consequences of their actions.

Looking at the photo above would you be willing to bet your life on which gun is real and which is not? Probably not?  In this case, the pistol pictured at the bottom right of the image is a BPD issued Glock 21, the others are the airsoft guns seized from this incident.  Their parents were notified.

It should also be noted that when an individual (police officers included) are threatened with a perceived firearm there is no obligation on that individual to try and determine whether the weapon is real or not.  Even in a case where the orange or yellow cap is in place, one cannot assume that it is not a genuine firearm made to look like an airsoft gun. We cannot stress enough how dangerous these situations can be.