PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — Police are warning residents that they received calls about people being shot with toy guns that shoot water beads. Now two children have been injured in Peachtree City, and it all started with a social media trend.
An 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were shot with Orbeez, or water-filled balls, from toy pellet guns that officials are calling "splatter ball guns" on Monday, according to Peachtree City Police. Both children suffered injuries to their faces and abdomens in the attack.
Four 17-year-old teenage boys were found with splatter ball guns in the area, but authorities determined that they were not responsible for the attack. The teens are, however, facing charges for breaking a city ordinance by discharging the weapons.
Police said they saw people on a golf cart on Tuesday firing Orbeez water pellets they'd frozen at children.
They have charged two 14-year-olds with aggravated assault as a result, one teen was charged for being an accessory to the crime. Both teens were also charged for underage use of the golf carts.
A parent also faces charges for allowing her son to use the golf cart while underaged.
Anyone who has information regarding the incident has been asked to call 770-487-8866 or email policepublicinfo@peachtree-city.org.
Boy shot by water bead gun
The Peachtree City Police Department issued a pair of photos on Tuesday featuring injuries suffered by a child in a "splatter ball gun" attack. Police have not confirmed that the child injured in the photos was involved in Monday's attack.
The department issued the following statement yesterday:
Parents: This has gotten out of hand.We continue to see teenagers utilizing the cart path while discharging splat ball guns (Orbeez) at other people on the cart path, even at innocent bystanders. Now they are modifying the beads to be more painful. As you can see from the attached photos from an incident yesterday on the cart path, these can be very painful and can cause permanent injury. This child was uninvolved riding his bicycle on the path when he was assaulted by a group of teens riding by shooting these weapons at him.The police department will be pursuing criminal charges on all persons caught discharging these weapons at other persons on city property. In some cases, it could result in felony charges and parents could also be liable for the actions of their kids. Even just shooting these on city property (not at another person) is a violation of city ordinance.Please take this seriously and ensure your kids are not involved.
Peachtree City is not the only place in Georgia experiencing "splatter ball gun" related attacks.
Officers with the LaGrange Police Department said they had received several calls reporting that people had been shot with Orbeez.
"The LaGrange Police Department cannot stress enough the dangers involved in these activities. Pointing a gun, real or fake, at someone can result in dire consequences," the department said in a Facebook post.
The agency pleaded with parents to discuss the dangers with their children.
"Parents and guardians, if your child is engaged in this behavior, please discuss the dangers with your children. Check to see if they have altered the color of any of these guns and please dispose of them if so." The department said.
The attacks have been a trend on social media, police said. Originating on TikTok, the trend calls on people to point the water bead guns at strangers.
#orbeezchallenge has over 2.4 billion views on TikTok as of the time of this writing.