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A 14-year-old Cedar City boy is apparently paralyzed with a serious neck wound after being shot by his younger sister. The shooting raises an issue police have been warning about for a long time: Toy guns that are made to look like real guns.
They're called Airsoft guns. They look like the real thing, but they fire plastic pellets instead of bullets.
Authorities in Cedar City say an Airsoft gunfight was going on inside the children's house when the incident occurred.
"That's a very realistic weapon," said Iron County Sheriff Mark Gower. "I have a Walther .22 pistol. This is a Walther Airsoft gun. They look identical."
While play-fighting in the house with her brother, the 12-year-old girl grabbed a real gun, apparently thinking it was another toy.
"She pointed it, and it went off," Gower explained.
The bullet hit her 14-year-old brother in the neck.
"I feel horrible. I mean, we've grown up with Karen, pretty much. And they're family. So, it's horrible," said next-door neighbor Stephanie Crotts.
The boy was flown to a spinal injury clinic at Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake, where his parents are at his bedside.
"They called us this morning to let us know that he's going to be paralyzed from the chest down," Crotts said. KSL, however, has been unable to verify that through official channels.
The sheriff says the use of Airsoft toy guns is a major concern. "We've had some incidents in the county in the last few days when children, kids, juveniles have these weapons, and they're driving by each other and shooting at each other," Gower said.
Gower says his biggest worry is that someday a kid will point an Airsoft gun at a law enforcement officer, and the officer will do what he's trained to do: fire.
"I mean, it could be tragic. In the past it's happened, and we sure don't want it to happen again," Gower said.
Another issue authorities are looking into is why a real, loaded gun was accessible to a child. The sheriff says he believes it was in a gun cabinet, but the cabinet was not locked.
The case will be referred to the county attorney to see if any charges are warranted.
E-mail: jhollenhorst@ksl.com
