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Local Police Issue Warning About Toy Guns After Charging Teenager

CORAOPOLIS (KDKA) -- To the untrained eye, they look and feel real, and in the wrong hands, realistic-looking weapons could really get someone in trouble.

One local police department is issuing a warning after a recent case in which a teen was charged.

Police in Coraopolis were called to the local McDonald's restaurant on Oct. 29, after a customer reported seeing two teenagers passing a gun back and forth.

"My officers arrived, was given a description of who had the rifle, and he was able to confiscate the rifle from that teenager," said acting Chief Ronald Denbow, of Coraopolis Police.

The 17-year-old who had the gun, possibly as prop for Halloween, was charged with disorderly conduct and transfer of air rifles.

But police warn the real threat here lies in the fact that an officer could easily mistake the air rifle for a real semi-automatic weapon.

"If somebody was having this, and you got a call, and you answered a call with this gun and they had the toy gun and didn't respond to any of your commands, there might be a tragic ending," said Chief Denbow.

Police say even down to the accessories, the air gun mirrors real thing. That what makes it so scary for everyone.

"There's an indicator showing that it's loaded with shells, and as you can see on the real thing, there's also an indicator with the shells," said Chief Denbow. "This should have been in a case and not visible to the public eye."

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