Attack on Chinese Airsoft Guns!

Shenzhen Customs officers destroy replica guns in the warehouse of its Huizhou anti-smuggling office Thursday. About 2,790 guns and 1,500 kilograms of spare parts were destroyed, Customs officials said Friday. The popularity of field warfare games has contributed to increased demand for replica guns in the domestic market, which has led to an increase in replica gun smuggling cases, officials said. The guns resemble the real thing in color, weight, size and quality, and as such can be used by criminals to threaten victims in robberies and muggings. So far nearly 12,000 smuggled replica guns and spare parts have been seized by the Customs this year.Li Hao

Youth airsoft gun violence in King County

I wholeheartedly agreed with Beth Colgan’s perspective in her guest commentary in The Seattle Times, “Community intervention effective at dealing with kids packing heat” [Opinion, Oct. 2].

She makes an excellent point in her critique of King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg’s call for a new state law to mandate jail time for juveniles who are in possession of guns. Colgan states these youth would be better served if judges would order them to participate in proven community-based programs designed to give them the therapeutic, and culturally specific services they need to destroy their misguided fixation on carrying around firearms.

Time and time again, research-based programs have shown that community-based intervention and prevention projects more effectively serve violent-prone youth than does sending them to state-run detention centers. Plus these programs are far less expensive to operate than youth jails.

Although Colgan is correct in pointing out that fewer than a fraction of 1 percent of Washington youth have been adjudicated for gun possession, Satterberg is right to ring the alarm bell regarding the devastation caused by those few youth who have wantonly maimed and killed people recently in King County.

As the chair of the Metropolitan King County Council budget committee, I believe we must focus our attention on finding a way to identify, improve and better utilize programs that can provide help to these youth in our community.

I do not think the facts currently warrant passing a state law incarcerating all youth found guilty of being in possession of a gun.

Boy repels burglars from home with airsoft gun and shotgun

We spoke yesterday of a successful gun defense use by a Texas five-year-old against an 800-pound alligator. Now we learn of a Michigan 13-year-old who repelled two burglars from his home with an Airsoft pistol backed up with a 20-gauge shotgun.
You'll find no shortage of hoplophobes who--unable to rid our homes of guns--seek to have them rendered useless under the guise of "safe storage laws." We even find this presumption coming from some on "our side," including in Josh's home state.

We've seen how well this worked in Merced a few years back.

There simply is no one-size-fits-all solution, especially with denial and ignorance being the preferred strategy. As parents, it is our responsibility to provide our children with age-appropriate training, to guide their development, and to know when they're ready to be trusted with more responsibilities.

You'll find no shortage of hoplophobes who--unable to rid our homes of guns--seek to have them rendered useless under the guise of "safe storage laws." We even find this presumption coming from some on "our side," including in Josh's home state.

We've seen how well this worked in Merced a few years back.

There simply is no one-size-fits-all solution, especially with denial and ignorance being the preferred strategy. As parents, it is our responsibility to provide our children with age-appropriate training, to guide their development, and to know when they're ready to be trusted with more responsibilities.

Milwaukie school locked down in toy airsoft gun threat

MILWAUKIE -- A California boy was arrested today after he threatened people with a realistic-looking toy airsoft pistol, then fought with bystanders who tried to hold him.

No one was injured. However, St. John the Baptist Catholic School temporarily was locked down.

Officer Kevin Krebs, Milwaukie police spokesman, said police were called at 12:15 p.m. to Southeast Washington Street and 25th Avenue after a report of a man threatening people with a gun. When police arrived, they found that the suspect had gotten into a scuffle with people who tried to detain him and was running from the scene.

Yevgeniy A. Pavlenko, 15, of Oceanside, Calif., was arrested two blocks away. He was referred to Clackamas County juvenile authorities, accused of menacing and disorderly conduct.

Krebs said the suspect's gun, which resembled a Colt .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol, actually was an airsoft gun, a realistic-looking toy. Many airsoft guns are fitted with orange tips to distinguish them from real firearms, but the suspect's pistol did not have one.

AirSplat which sells airsoft guns, includes the following warning on the company Web site:

"Mistaken identification of an airsoft gun may result in the accidental death of the user. The airsoft gun must never be taken to an area in which a police officer or another person may interpret the airsoft as a real gun."

Airsoft gun sparks incident at Milwaukie High

MILWAUKIE, Ore. - A 15-year-old boy was taken into custody Friday afternoon at Milwaukie High School.

According to police, the teenager had an Airsoft gun (which can look real) and he was tackled by two others. It is unknown at this time whether the teenager is a student at the school.

The school did not go into lockdown because police were quickly able to get the situation under control and they immediately took the teenager into custody for questioning.