A 19-year-old man has been arrested at gunpoint in Ulladulla after being caught allegedly carrying a toy gun that looks like an assault rifle. It’s never a good idea to carry an imitation gun in public, especially at night.
The man was swarmed by police at gunpoint at 12.10am on Wednesday August 14 while walking down Golden Valley Drive in Ulladulla, according to About Regional.
The gun, which shoots gel balls, looks close enough to a real gun that you’d probably be dialling 000 if you saw it. So obviously police weren’t taking any risks when they held the man at gunpoint.
“The officers drew their firearms and directed the man to drop the weapon,” the police report read.“The firearm was placed on the ground and secured by police. It was seized along with parts and ammunition.”
Thanks to gun laws passed back in 1996, guns aren’t really a “thing” in Australia. We’re not immune to gun-related crimes, but you wouldn’t exactly expect your neighbour to be walking down the street with a rifle. So it’s probably not a good idea to be walking down the street with a realistic-looking gun at midnight. But it turns out the gel blaster is just as illegal as a real gun.
Gel blasters like this one, are considered firearms in New South Wales. This means you need to have a license or permit to possess one, even though it’s not a real gun. Whether it shoots real bullets or paint bullets, you’d better make sure it’s registered properly because the police will absolutely take it seriously.
The toy guns are currently legal in South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania, but require a permit in NSW and Victoria, according to 9News.
The 19-year-old was arrested at the scene and taken to the local police station. According to the police report, the man was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and being an unauthorised person possessing a firearm.
He has been granted conditional bail and will appear at Milton Local Court this Thursday.
Just a handy word of advice, probably don’t carry your very real-looking fake gun around in public. If a police officer catches you with a fake gun, you never know if they’ll pull out their real one.
