Families outraged after kids shot with pellets
OLYMPIA, Wash. - Families in an Olympia apartment complex say they are outraged after someone repeatedly shot their kids with a BB gun while they were outside playing.
No one been has seriously hurt, but parents say - with small pellets flying through the air - that can change very quickly. And parents are upset that police don't seem to show much interest in stopping it.
Ruben Ramirez, who lives in the neighborhood, says his son was shot at, along with several other kids. Now he's fed up.
"This guy knows that the police are looking for him, he knows that the reports have been done," Ramirez says.
His 8-year-old son, Antonio, says he was hit twice, and he knows of six other children who have been shot with pellets.
The 21-year old man with the BB gun apparently told the kids they were in a wooded area that he didn't want them near.
"He told me that we better get out of there - or he's gonna shoot us," Antonio said.
Neighbors say the weapon appears to be an "air soft" BB gun that's easy to buy. It uses plastic pellets as ammunition.
"It was like I was getting a shot. It hurt," says Kealii Teanio, another boy who lives in the area. "I didn't like the pain. It almost made me cry because it was hurting me."
Families who live in the apartment complex say another part of the aggravation is how police have responded to their calls about the BB incidents and other problems.
"His first reaction when he comes out is, 'I'm tired of coming over here. Things are always happening here.'" says Ruben Ramirez. "My response is, 'You don't do nothing about it.'"
Last night, neighbors say they got word that the young man with the BB gun had turned himself into police for questioning. Some parents are insisting charges be filed, even if it was supposed to be a prank or a scare tactic.
"A BB gun - a toy gun - an air soft gun. It's a gun. And you can get hurt. And you have to treat it like it's a real gun," says John Teanio, Kealii's father.
KOMO News was unable to get a comment from Olympia police today on the accusations that officers have done a poor job responding to calls in that apartment complex.
Attempts to determine the whereabouts of the man with the gun also were unsuccessful.
No one been has seriously hurt, but parents say - with small pellets flying through the air - that can change very quickly. And parents are upset that police don't seem to show much interest in stopping it.
Ruben Ramirez, who lives in the neighborhood, says his son was shot at, along with several other kids. Now he's fed up.
"This guy knows that the police are looking for him, he knows that the reports have been done," Ramirez says.
His 8-year-old son, Antonio, says he was hit twice, and he knows of six other children who have been shot with pellets.
The 21-year old man with the BB gun apparently told the kids they were in a wooded area that he didn't want them near.
"He told me that we better get out of there - or he's gonna shoot us," Antonio said.
Neighbors say the weapon appears to be an "air soft" BB gun that's easy to buy. It uses plastic pellets as ammunition.
"It was like I was getting a shot. It hurt," says Kealii Teanio, another boy who lives in the area. "I didn't like the pain. It almost made me cry because it was hurting me."
Families who live in the apartment complex say another part of the aggravation is how police have responded to their calls about the BB incidents and other problems.
"His first reaction when he comes out is, 'I'm tired of coming over here. Things are always happening here.'" says Ruben Ramirez. "My response is, 'You don't do nothing about it.'"
Last night, neighbors say they got word that the young man with the BB gun had turned himself into police for questioning. Some parents are insisting charges be filed, even if it was supposed to be a prank or a scare tactic.
"A BB gun - a toy gun - an air soft gun. It's a gun. And you can get hurt. And you have to treat it like it's a real gun," says John Teanio, Kealii's father.
KOMO News was unable to get a comment from Olympia police today on the accusations that officers have done a poor job responding to calls in that apartment complex.
Attempts to determine the whereabouts of the man with the gun also were unsuccessful.