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With school right around the corner, the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office is warning locals to think twice before using fake guns in an effort to prank or intimidate others.
TPSO warns that because the guns look real, there are serious dangers attached to them because officers and others often cannot tell the difference from afar, which could force serious reactions and dangers to the public.
Col. Terry Daigre, TPSO’s Chief Criminal Deputy, said the fake weapons should never be taken to school and when school is out, the weapons shouldn’t be played with as toys.
Col. Daigre issued the warning because on several occasions over the summer, TPSO patrol deputies have encountered the weapons.
He said deputies have encountered BB guns or other objects designed to look like the real thing, even down to the brand name.
“In one case last month, we had a deputy dispatched to Corporate Drive in response to a call about two juveniles walking around with handguns in their possession,” Col. Daigre said. “The deputy encountered an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old who acknowledged that they had BB guns in their waists. Due to his experience and training, the deputy handled the problem in a manner proving safe for himself and the two juveniles, and took the guns from them. One was an all-black Beretta and the other an all-black TDP semi-automatic handgun. None had orange tips nor any other markings to indicate they were replicas.”
Col. Daigre said if parents find their children in possession of the replicas, they can call TPSO, if they want the weapons destroyed.
“There is too great a risk that a police officer or another armed person could mistake one of these replicas for being the real thing, with a potential for tragic results,” Col. Daigre said. “Fake guns can make for real injuries.”
