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Toying around with safety

By Staff | Oct 20, 2018

Columbus, Ohio, police Officer Peter Casuccio made headlines this week after telling an 11-year-old the boy was lucky to be alive.

Good for Casuccio for doing what the lad’s parents should have.

Casuccio was on patrol last Saturday when he received a call about two youngsters brandishing a gun. He pulled his cruiser up to them and got out, unholstering his gun as he moved toward them.

One of the boys pulled a pistol out of his waistband, then dropped it on the sidewalk. Only then, when the plastic weapon shattered on the concrete, did Cacussio realize it was a pellet gun. Like so many in circulation today, it was manufactured to look almost identical to a real firearm.

Casuccio, as shown on his body camera, launched into a lecture to the boys, one 11 and the other 13. “This is getting kids killed all over the country,” he told them. “Everything you wanted to do in this life could’ve been over in three seconds.”

Later, Casuccio took the 11-year-old home. The boy’s mother thanked him for not shooting her son.

Before leaving, the officer reminded the boy and his mother that, only about two years ago, a Columbus boy did not survive a similar encounter. He was Tyre King, 13, shot after he pulled a realistic-looking BB gun from his waistband.

Casuccio may have saved a life last Saturday. But one wonders why so many parents – everywhere, including in our communities – allow children to carry realistic-appearing pellet and toy guns. They are putting their children in great ­- but preventable – danger.

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