Child's toy gun sparks panic at a bank in England

[Mike375]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...d-sparks-panic-bank-branch.html#ixzz0sxOvnx3L

 

[oumahexi]

Police were scrambled to the high street branch and panic-stricken staff and customers were evacuated while the security guard waited inside

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...d-sparks-panic-bank-branch.html#ixzz0szg7qUAb

LMAO, panic stricken!! Because we all know that a gun laying on the floor, unattended is just waiting to shoot the first person that looks at it! Just check the handle, you can see it's cheap plastic! ROFL That's one of the funniest things I have ever read! I can just see them all gathering their little skirts and fleeing from this un-manned "weapon". ROFL again.

 

[chergh]

This is a bit of a non-story

First it's the daily mail reporting so I expect sensationalism and disregard things like "panic stricken staff" as the daily mail is full of bullshit like this.

Secondly the picutre is of a "similar" gun. In daily mail speak this probably means it's the first picture of a toy gun we could find and the actual gun was probably not similar in the slightest.

Thirdly evacuating the branch and waiting for trained police to come and assess the weapon is exactly what should happen. I really wouldn't want some random person who knows nothing about guns picking it up to see if it is really a gun or not, just because it looks like a toy doesn't mean it is, as the following picture shows, one of the guns in the picture is real:

or

if someone does pick it up then it really could go off and injure someone. Even if that doesn't happen it could still have been used in a crime and someone picking it up could result in evidence being lost.

 

[Alc]

This is a bit of a non-story

First it's the daily mail reporting so I expect sensationalism and disregard things like "panic stricken staff" as the daily mail is full of bullshit like this.

Secondly the picutre is of a "similar" gun. In daily mail speak this probably means it's the first picture of a toy gun we could find and the actual gun was probably not similar in the slightest.

Thirdly evacuating the branch and waiting for trained police to come and assess the weapon is exactly what should happen. I really wouldn't want some random person who knows nothing about guns picking it up to see if it is really a gun or not, just because it looks like a toy doesn't mean it is, as the following picture shows, one of the guns in the picture is real:

if someone does pick it up then it really could go off and injure someone. Even if that doesn't happen it could still have been used in a crime and someone picking it up could result in evidence being lost.

Agree with everything you wrote - which is rare for any non-technical posting on the forum, that goes past a sentence or two.
Well said.

 

[oumahexi]

Oo-oo-oo, a pretty pink one! If I move states side can I have one to match every outfit?

 

[Kryst51]

Oo-oo-oo, a pretty pink one! If I move states side can I have one to match every outfit?

You sound like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.... "And can they dye my eyes to match my gown?"

LOL

 

[oumahexi]

This is a bit of a non-story

First it's the daily mail reporting so I expect sensationalism and disregard things like "panic stricken staff" as the daily mail is full of bullshit like this.

Secondly the picutre is of a "similar" gun. In daily mail speak this probably means it's the first picture of a toy gun we could find and the actual gun was probably not similar in the slightest.

So you agree it was a very funny story then

 

[The_Doc_Man]

In the USA, the government now require toy guns to be made with an orange "cap" on the barrel to show that it is a toy. The picture I saw in the linked article would have looked real enough from a distance that some child could have been shot because of it. Now THAT would have been the real tragedy.

 

[Vassago]

In the USA, the government now require toy guns to be made with an orange "cap" on the barrel to show that it is a toy. The picture I saw in the linked article would have looked real enough from a distance that some child could have been shot because of it. Now THAT would have been the real tragedy.

The sad thing is, although it's a requirement to sell them here that way, it's not a requirement to buy one outside the US and bring it here. I see many toy knockoffs at flea markets where they sell guns without the orange cap. I also have zapper guns for my PC that look VERY real and could easily be mistaken for real guns.

 

[oumahexi]

In the USA, the government now require toy guns to be made with an orange "cap" on the barrel to show that it is a toy. The picture I saw in the linked article would have looked real enough from a distance that some child could have been shot because of it. Now THAT would have been the real tragedy.

I think we have a similar law in this country, but so few children are allowed to play with toy guns here that it's almost a non - issue.

Sorry, I should have added, and fewer are allowed to play with real guns

 

[ChipperT]

Just a few weeks ago near me a small group of lads were crossing school property after school to get to some wooded areas to play. They had their toy guns with them, orange caps on the barrel clearly visible. Unfortunately for them there were two or three teachers still at the school after hours who called the police. The lads were arrested, their toys confiscated and are facing a judge in juvenile court. Now, I am all for limiting possession of handguns and the like (and do not want to start an argument here about that), but you can take zero tolerance way too far. People need to use their brains. These were kids playing as kids will. There was no danger. And they were obviously toys. Now these boys will be scarred with the memory for years if not for life, of what authority run amuck can do to an individual.