A 13-year-old and two 14-year-olds were referred to juvenile authorities for offenses that would be felonies if they were adults after an out-of-control brawl Tuesday night.
Two Bloomington police officers sustained minor injuries while trying to handcuff a 13-year-old boy, who police say tried to flee. He possessed an authentic-looking replica of a handgun, police said, which was confiscated when he was arrested.
A security guard hired to patrol the Crestmont neighborhood told Bloomington police the youth with the gun had brandished it during a fight in the area about an hour earlier, when a group of people were arguing.
The copy-cat gun’s orange safety tip that indicates it’s not a real weapon had been colored black to match the rest of the barrel, police said, so the toy gun appeared to be real.
Police charged the 13-old boy with two counts of intimidation and resisting law enforcement resulting in injury, which would be felonies in adult court. A 14-year-old boy faces the same resisting law enforcement with injury charge.
And a 14-year-old-girl was charged with felony intimidation and also unlawful encroachment and resisting law enforcement, which would be misdemeanors if she were an adult.
All three were taken from the scene to the Bloomington police station, then released to their guardians. They were referred to Monroe County’s juvenile probation department and court.
BPD Capt. Ryan Pedigo issued a news release Wednesday afternoon about the incident.
Pedigo reported officers dispatched to the intersection of 13th and Illinois streets about 9:25 p.m. Tuesday were flagged down by a security guard who pointed out the 13 and 14-year-old in a group of 10 males fighting, saying one had displayed a handgun during an earlier incident.
Pedigo said when officers approached the two, they tried to flee, but were soon apprehended. He said when the 13-year-old tried to run, BPD officers pursued him and took him to the ground, where the teen struggled to get away. Officers said he reached for the waistband of his pants, where they later retrieved the mock gun.
The 14-year-old boy reportedly rushed toward officers trying to subdue the younger suspect, then was taken into custody and handcuffed, the news release said.
On the way to the police station, the 13-year-old complained of shortness of breath. Officers called for an ambulance and pulled into a parking lot at 11th and Fairview streets, where they unzipped the boy’s sweatshirt and waited for medics, the news release said.
“While being assessed by the ambulance crew, a vehicle with several of the juvenile's family members arrived on scene and began screaming at officers,” Pedigo’s news release said. The youth "shoved himself out of the rear seat of the squad car” and had to be restrained.
A 14-year-old girl pushed through officers to get to the 13-year-old, “and made a statement that the officer took to mean that she was going to stab someone,” according to the news release. After she refused commands to step back, an officer grabbed her wrists and applied handcuffs.
A woman who saw the original disturbance reported to police that before officers arrived to break up the fight, the boys taken into custody had threatened to kill her.
Replica guns like the one police confiscated are readily available from Walmart, Target and Amazon. Some cost $100 or more; smaller ones, recommended for children as young as 6, can be bought for $25.
The guns are designed to simulate real firearms, but don’t shoot bullets. The one from the Tuesday night incident resembles a Glock handgun but is made to shoot gel beads. The weapon was from Orbeez, a company that targets teens. It sells fake guns that resemble high-powered sniper rifles, large-capacity hopper guns and fully automatic machine guns, according to its website.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
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