SAN ANTONIO – Four juveniles were caught with two SplatRBall bead blaster guns that were used to shoot random people in a Northwest Side neighborhood, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said a man first reported that he was shot with the high-velocity bead blaster gun at around 7:10 p.m. on Sunday in the 1000 block of Painted Daisy, not far from Alamo Parkway and Culebra Road in the Alamo Ranch area.
Deputies were told that someone in a vehicle was shooting at random bystanders, BCSO said in a Facebook post on Tuesday night.
Shortly after the first report, another man called authorities and said that he was struck by the bead blaster gun while playing outside with his young son.
Deputies spotted the suspect vehicle nearby and they saw someone inside the car shoot a bead blaster gun toward other people, BCSO said.
They stopped the vehicle containing four juveniles and found two of the guns inside. The car belonged to one of their parents, deputies said.
Four of the juveniles, including a 15-year-old, two 14-year-olds, and one 11-year-old, were taken into custody. BCSO confirmed Wednesday that two teens would face charges of injury to a child and assault causing bodily injury.
“Let this serve as a lesson to others who may be considering of attempting this reckless and senseless challenge—you will be arrested, and your vehicle will be seized,” BCSO said in the post. “If you are ever become a victim of this type of incident, please call 911 immediately so law enforcement can respond and apprehend the responsible suspects.”
BCSO was referring to the TikTok challenge that encourages users to shoot the guns at unexpecting people, typically from a moving vehicle.
The bead blasters, also known as splat guns or splatter guns, are toy air guns that shoot water or gel beads.
The SplatRBall website warns users to not aim or open fire at people or animals, as their blasters can shoot numerous beads per second.
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