Think before you buy

WAIKATO Police community engagement manager Inspector Marcus Lynam with two Colt M4 M203 assault rifles. The weapon in the left hand is a non-working replica. TC181208DT34

BY DEAN TAYLOR

Police are so concerned about the potential for an accidental shooting, they called the media together to emphasise the difficult position toy and replica firearms present.

Sitting in a dim room at Hamilton Central Police Station, journalists and photographers admitted they could only guess which of the 25 firearms in front of them were real and which were fake.

Hamilton Central officer in charge Senior Sergeant Wayne Petherick told the media Police have little time to ascertain whether weapons are real or not — so they are all treated as real. Police emphasised that if the weapon is used in an aggressive manner then the person is in danger of being shot.

Waikato District arms officer Mike Cahill said his worst nightmare was someone with a toy or replica firearm who had a hearing impairment. He says not following Police instructions would put that person in grave danger.

The seriousness of the concerns has been highlighted in a number of incidents.

Recently a report two armed youths and shots being fired in Enderley in Hamilton was received. The youths were armed with BB rifles, and shots had been fired, plus the youths presented themselves to armed officers with their weapons in positions Police deem as ready to be used.

At midnight last Thursday night the Armed Offenders Squad was called to a Deanwell address after Noise Control reported a man brandishing a firearm on the front porch of a house. Two shots were reported to have been fired. A cordon was established around the home and the occupants were removed. A subsequent search recovered two air rifles and a gas powered air pistol. One man was interviewed by Police and cautioned.

The plea is for people to think twice about purchasing toy or replica firearms. Communications manager Andrew McAlley said his research showed there were very realistic toy weapons available for as little as $1.50, and very good replicas could easily be purchased from such internet sites as TradeMe.

And it is not just the potential for an accidental Police shooting that has authorities concerned. Some of the BB guns or air rifles are also quite capable of inflicting serious damage.

Amongst the Police line-up was a battery powered BB gun which Mr Cahill said would be capable of putting a hole in a wall when fired rapidly at close range. And in Te Kuiti District Court last month a father was convicted of possessing a loaded air rifle which his five-year-old daughter had found and used to shoot her one-year-old sister. The victim was hit in the chest and hospitalised.