Police warn about risks of Midtown 'BB gun war'
KINGSTON, N.Y. » City kids as young as 13, and adults as well, are participating a “BB gun war” in the Elmendorf Street area in Midtown, and police are worried that what began as a game could end in tragedy.
Since July 6, Kingston police have responded to 18 or 20 reports of BB guns fired on Elmendorf Street at all hours of the day and night, Detective Lt. Thierry Croizer said Wednesday. He said one person was struck in the face by a BB and another was hit in the leg or back. The two individuals, who were not identified, suffered minor injuries, and neither was a participant in the “war,” Croizer said.
He said reports have included broken windows.
Croizer said police have made some arrests for disorderly conduct since the reports began and that several BB guns have been confiscated. Police who are called to investigate shots fired “can’t assume it’s a BB gun,” Croizer said. “It’s a doubleedged sword for us, and not only us . ... If I happen to have a pistol permit and someone points one of these things at me .... ”
He said none of the participants has pointed a BB gun at an officer, but “it’s only a matter of time if something like this continues.”
Croizer said “an urban environment is not the place” for the BB guns, which “look like the real thing.”
In a Facebook post, the Kingston Police Department is urging parents to “take the BB gun away from [children] before someone gets seriously hurt or worse.”
“Please help us prevent this from turning into potential tragedy,” the post states. “We are here to protect the public, but we need your help.”