A BB Gun and a Minor Facial Injury

pulliptears

alleycat` wrote: »

I'm assuming that the BB gun is more than 50% brightly coloured.
I don't think you can buy them now unless they are 50% bright orange, blue, etc.
It makes them more obvious in regards to "realness".

That legislation is fairly recent, no more than a couple of years. There are millions of BB guns in this country passed around from older brothers, cousins, uncles etc. I wouldn't assume that at all, in fact I've seen more of the plain old style types than the newer brighter ones.

Tropez

alleycat` wrote: »

I'm assuming that the BB gun is more than 50% brightly coloured.
I don't think you can buy them now unless they are 50% bright orange, blue, etc.
It makes them more obvious in regards to "realness".

Both realistic and non-realistic air guns are available. To acquire a realistic one, you need to be over 18 and a member of an air-soft club. To acquire a bb gun if you are not a member of an air-soft club, you still need to be over 18 but you can only buy a non-realistic gun.

It is illegal for anyone under 18 to be in possession of either type of bb gun outside of private land and without the supervision of somebody over 21. Both types are also classed as imitation firearms for legal purposes (although courts are likely to distinguish between the two).

fannyanna

I've not read all of the replies so sorry if I'm repeating what someone else has already said....

If you're reluctant to go straight to the police how about asking the school to contact the boys parents and obtain their permission for their contact details to be passed to you. You can say that you would prefer to speak directly to the boys parents before going straight to the police.

I know that if I were the boys parent I would greatly appreciate a chance to sort things out directly with you rather than having the police turn up on my door step.


I don't think it's unreasonable of you to go straight to the police though. It's quite serious and your daughter is lucky that she wasn't badly hurt.

keystone

967stuart wrote: »

keystone, it's getting more and more clear that you are a moron.

and its getting more and more clear that you are an extremist who actually thinks that the use of the word "terrorist" in a context (which on the face of it may have been in jest) of somebody who is already waving a gun around is automatically translatable as racist and more than that it actually justifies using then the weapon to shoot somebody. I was looking for perspective and proportion in this not extremism. There are two sides to every story, I've only heard one and I have not said my child is blameless in this matter. I doubt that she is but that is entirely not the point.

Bye

Person_one

A boy with a 'non English name' being called a terrorist and having his scooter repeatedly taken away without his permission by a group of other kids? Sorry Op, I know its hard to accept but it does sound like your daughter was involved in some bullying here. You'll need to address that regardless of what else happened.

He definitely shouldn't have been carrying a BB gun, and he definitely shouldn't have fired it, so yes I would go to the police but I would make sure your daughter is aware that the boy's worse behaviour doesn't excuse her bad behaviour.

keystone

Person_one wrote: »

A boy with a 'non English name' being called a terrorist and having his scooter repeatedly taken away without his permission by a group of other kids? Sorry Op, I know its hard to accept but it does sound like your daughter was involved in some bullying here. You'll need to address that regardless of what else happened.

No problem with this and it isn't hard to accept at all. I did that last night although my principal concern was ensuring that there was no serious or lasting damage to he. We have already had two discussions (well more like me transmitting really) on this matter and she knows I'm not going to let it drop and I haven't yet decided a suitable punishment.

He definitely shouldn't have been carrying a BB gun, and he definitely shouldn't have fired it, so yes I would go to the police.

Thank you.

but I would make sure your daughter is aware that the boy's worse behaviour doesn't excuse her bad behaviour.

I agree entirely.

Cheers

pmlindyloo

fannyanna wrote: »

I've not read all of the replies so sorry if I'm repeating what someone else has already said....

If you're reluctant to go straight to the police how about asking the school to contact the boys parents and obtain their permission for their contact details to be passed to you. You can say that you would prefer to speak directly to the boys parents before going straight to the police.

I know that if I were the boys parent I would greatly appreciate a chance to sort things out directly with you rather than having the police turn up on my door step.


I don't think it's unreasonable of you to go straight to the police though. It's quite serious and your daughter is lucky that she wasn't badly hurt.

I think you are 'spot on' here about asking the school to liaise. I would go further and ask them to facilitate a meeting between you and the parent(s) of the boy involved.

If you explain to the school that you do not wish to get the police involved at the moment but would like a chance to hear the whole story with the kids and their parent(s) present, then hopefully the school will arrange this.

If the parent(s) of the boy concerned do not co-operate then you may wish to report it to the police.

I dislike the immediate idea of reporting to the police before any attempt has been made to sort things out.

Young people do stupid things and often don't realise the consequences. The parent(s) may have no idea that the boy had taken the gun out. They may be horrified. They may not know anything about it.

On the other hand, the boy may be a complete idiot with parents who don't give a ****.

At least give them a chance to be involved before the police start knocking on their door.

gwen80

keystone - Just on another note, I'd be wary of trying to 'police' this yourself. The police are there for a reason and they have the experience and judgement to know how to deal with this. They may not always get things right all of the time, but overall it's probably most straightforward to let them deal with situations like this.

I reported a crime to the police a couple of years ago and really agonised over whether to report it. The people who know about it will, I'm sure, have a range of opinions about why I reported it, but ultimately I know that I reported it for two reasons only.

1. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if anything had happened to anyone else.

2. It was a crime and the police are best placed to deal with it.

Good luck!

Gwenx

Person_one

Also, sorry OP. but in my experience children that young who come out with racist/prejudiced comments have usually learned it at home. Your use of the phrase 'race card' makes me wonder if perhaps you need to examine your own attitudes to racism and the way its discussed in your family.

Gloomendoom

pmlindyloo wrote: »

At least give them a chance to be involved before the police start knocking on their door.

That's what I would do to.

I dealt with a similar incident a couple of years ago, although there was no provocation, and the police were not involved. The culprit has not put a foot wrong since.