Police respond to 911 call, find airsoft guns

North College Hill police asked parents to teach their children about the safe use of toy and replica guns after responding to a 911 call Wednesday.

Police responded to the Fourworlds Apartment Complex just after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning after three juveniles were reported to be shooting at each other on the sidewalk.

After finding and speaking with the boys, police discovered they had been shooting at each other with airsoft guns, which they hid under a car when police approached.

"The replica firearms did not have any orange tips to distinguish them from real firearms," police said on their Facebook page. "Please teach your children safe usage of replica, toy, and real firearms."

Airsoft guns often are constructed to resemble real firearms and shoot small plastic balls. Police were quick to point out in a comment that the toys themselves were not to blame.

"It wasn't the gun (or in this case the replica firearm) that was the problem," police wrote. "It was the conduct of the people with them. Walking down the sidewalk displaying and shooting them at 1 a.m. What citizen wouldn't call concerned about that?"

Police reported that they confiscated the airsoft guns and the juveniles were arrested for curfew violations. On Facebook, they posted photos showing how similar the replicas were to real firearms in appearance.

"This could have ended with tragic consequences," police said. "Fortunately, it ended with only a curfew arrest."