A new Cheshire Police video warns people of the dangers of carrying BB guns and imitation firearms following recent incidents in the county.
Police chiefs want to highlight how dangerous it is to carry an imitation firearm who may mistakenly think they are “just having a laugh”.
Officers say any report of a potential firearm as a “genuine life or death situation”.
Insp Iain Hannan, from the Cheshire and North Wales Firearms and Dogs Alliance, said: “My firearms officers have to treat every call as genuine and a life and death situation.
“They have to make very quick judgements to protect both the public and unarmed officers from serious harm.
“You might be messing about with your mates and waving the gun around, thinking it’s a harmless bit of fun.
“But when a report comes in of a male with a gun in a public place my officers have to make a call as to just how much of a threat you are.
“They have to decide if the firearm is real, and it can be hard to tell from a distance.
“You don’t want to be in a situation where you have firearms officers pointing real guns at you, and they don’t want to be in this position either.
“So please, before you head out with any imitation firearm or BB gun, think – don’t put yourself in what could be a very dangerous situation.
“There is also the potential you are committing a criminal offence, which could get yourself a criminal record for what may seem like harmless fun.”
See the video below:
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