OSWEGO – Walking down Dublin Street, one SUNY Oswego student was heading to a friend’s house for the night when he saw a car zoom by a stop sign and was then hit by a small projectile. What he thought was just “kids messing around,” was actually a social media trend that has been growing since March, the “Orbeez Challenge.”
The student, Will Rogers, believes he was shot by an Orbeez ball in the drive-by, something that fortunately did not result in an injury.
“The initial one kind of stung a bit, but that was it,” Rogers said. “It didn’t leave a mark at all. [I] was mostly just shook up … I’ve gone paintballing before, and I’ve grown up around airsoft and BB guns. I recognized the sound and covered my face because I was more concerned with my glasses breaking than anything else.”
Rogers said he initially thought it was a plastic pellet but could not find anything on the ground, making him believe it was the gel ball. The challenge started on social media, primarily Tik Tok, where people record themselves shooting others with a gun filled with Orbeez water gels.
While Orbeez does not sell a gel gun, other companies do or participants can use airsoft or BB guns loaded with the gels. Despite the dust up, Rogers is lucky it did not cause any severe harm, as the challenge may result in welts and eye damage.
The Oswego County Sheriff’s Office, according to Lt. Andrew Bucher, dealt with just two cases before it decided to share a statement to the community on June 3. The bulletin was put out to “discourage” the trend, and it seems to have worked as the office has not seen any new cases.
The statement encouraged victims to report incidents to the sheriff’s office, adding that it would “gladly charge anyone who participates in this act with a crime.” The Oswego City Police Department has seen roughly 6-10 cases, according to Sgt. Justin D’Elia.
Throughout the U.S., suspects have been charged with a variety of crimes. In one instance in Volusia County, Florida, suspects were charged with shooting into an occupied vehicle and child abuse, according to NPR.
The police department in Peachtree City, Georgia, suggested that some cases could result in felony charges. While charges can be drastic, it is important to note that each case is different.
“Some people don’t use Orbeez. Some people don’t use BB guns,” Bucher said. “Through the hypothetical lens of someone using a fake weapon that could actually still cause damage … Depending on the age of the perpetrator and the victim, there are endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, depending on the type of ammunition, harassment, of course.”
D’Elia added that other charges that perpetrators could face include assault and even criminal possession of a weapon depending on injuries.
While charges certainly may follow, the fact that teens are the main participants of the trend make it hard to judge any real criminal intent.
“Sometimes when you’re the prankster and you get the scream, it’s funny,” Bucher said. “But sometimes that person screaming has lasting mental anguish.”
Regardless of intent, it is important for parents to be involved and educated when it comes to Orbeez and the blasters that cause the damage.
“I would recommend that parents need to control and have a talk with their children that are using these, or if they’re purchasing these Orbeez guns for their children, they need to have some safety measures in place,” D’Elia said. “[Now for some reason,] people think it’s very fun to go around in a vehicle and start shooting them out the window at people … It is dangerous. It is very irresponsible, but we don’t want it to be that way. We want people to use them safely.”
As for those using the toys properly, D’Elia added that people should wear safety equipment and avoid shooting them around public places where bystanders could be injured.
An additional danger to the trend is the use of BB or airsoft guns, some that may look like actual weapons. With many cases being quick, some victims might think the airsoft gun is a real firearm, resulting in a need to defend themselves.
“We are a rural area, Oswego County. We don’t need some 18 year old pulling a realistic gun on someone who is carrying a gun,” Bucher said. “I’m sure it will happen somewhere in the United States that someone is going to pull a realistic looking Orbeez or BB-style gun, and they’re going to get shot because of it.”
Regardless of the severity of the potential consequences, whether they be criminal or other, the danger to the community should be enough for perpetrators to stop what they are doing, as civilians may begin to live in fear.
“Peace of mind is a very important thing. I would hate for somebody to not feel safe because they were menaced with a weapon that they thought for even a moment was [deadly]. People don’t need to live in fear, that’s not freedom … in my opinion,” Bucher said. “People don’t need to be shot in the eye and have their life changed. People don’t need to get shot at and scared and have a heart attack or slip and fall in a ditch.”
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Imagine if politicians took the same approach with real guns? Prosecute the real criminals to the fullest extent of the law. You would not need to make new gun laws just up the penalties and stop letting people out on appearance tickets. I wonder how many of these challenges will exist now that the Supreme Court has allowed it to become easier for a carry conceal permit in NYS.
. What happens when people can fire back? I mean hey that’s the argument anti hunting people use all the time…’arm the deer and then see how much of a sport it is’