Part of the reason for Wednesday's panic is that the teenager's airsoft gun looked an awful lot like the real thing.
Captain David Stukenholtz is with the Bellevue Police Department. He placed his gun next to the airsoft gun that a 16-year-old Bellevue East High School student brought to school. They looked almost identical.
"If you see that, you're just going to think that that's a real weapon," Captain Stukenholtz said.
Especially because the airsoft gun was missing one key piece.
"This is considered a toy," Jeff Childers with Canfield's said. "That's why they have orange tips on them all."
Toys that are very popular among 12 to 14 year olds. Childers explained why. "You'll have different teams and you dress up in different colors and stuff, point systems, and areas that are designated for airsoft games," Childers said.
An airsoft gun shoots small, plastic balls. "We recommend eye protection and face protection," Childers said. "However, like I said, they aren't enough to break the skin."
Not enough to harm, but enough to frighten students and parents. "They (airsoft guns) look so realistic that taking it to school with all the stuff that's been going on with guns, its just a really, really bad choice," Childers said.
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