VOLUSIA COUNTY, FL – Sheriff’s deputies charged a 14-year-old River Springs Middle School student Friday after a 12-year-old classmate said the boy shot her with a toy gun from a vehicle window while she walked home from school Thursday with other children. The teen was charged with shooting a weapon/missile in a public or private building that could cause death or great bodily harm (Florida Statutes 790.19) a felony.
An investigation determined the teen was a passenger in his sister’s vehicle which drove by the victim and other children walking along West Blue Springs Avenue, in Orange City. The vehicle then turned around after two boys walking made contact with the vehicle’s occupants and were laughing. The boy was seen shooting from the window at other students, striking them, and did not directly target the victim.
The victim received a welt in her stomach from the gun, identified as an “Orbeez” toy blaster – also known as a water-pellet gun. She told deputies she didn’t know him but recognized him from school. Detectives went to River Springs Middle School on Friday and learned that he had been identified in the incident. The boy told deputies that he found the toy gun when he got into the vehicle and he and two friends thought it would be funny to shoot it at their friends.
The Orbeez gun could not be located Thursday. However, the model used is a SplatRball SRB400 Rechargeable Battery Powered Water Bead Gel Ball Blaster Kit. The Orbeez is semi/full automatic and fires 200 feet per second. It fires water beads, gel balls or foam darts similar to paintballs.
In some cases, getting hit by the Orbeez can be painful according to Tullahoma News. Some cities have banned water pellet guns through local ordinances due to growing concern over their use.
The boys full name was included in the report, however, redacted by The Published Reporter editors due to his age.
