12-year-old arrested after waving gun in car
Friday, 15 Jun 2007 15:45
Police said the arrest would send a "powerful warning"
A 12-year-old boy has been arrested by police in Essex after he was seen waving an imitation gun in a car.
Plain clothes officers were following a car on London Road in Purfleet yesterday afternoon when they saw an occupant with what they believed to be a handgun.
Firearms officers stopped the car a short time later and found a BB gun in the vehicle.
A 12-year-old boy from South Ockenden has been charged with being in possession of an imitation firearm in a public place and has been released on police bail.
He will appear at a youth court in Essex on Friday June 22nd.
A spokesman for Essex police said that his arrest sends a "powerful warning" to parents and teenagers about the seriousness of possessing imitation firearms.
Detective Chief Inspector Keith Dobsonsaid: "People just don't realise just how much they put themselves and others at risk by having these weapons in public. They think of them as toys but they are not really.
"A small pellet fired from one of these has the capacity to destroy someone's sight if it goes into an eye. While they are legal to own parents must ask themselves whether it is appropriate for children to have these guns as toys as they are potentially gambling with their lives."