AURORA, Colo. — Aurora police are looking for someone who fired a weapon at a child who was shooting at passing cars with a toy gun.
The Aurora Police Department said two boys, ages 10 and 11, were shooting cars with Gel Blaster water guns in the area of East Alameda Parkway and South Tucson Circle Friday night.
Gel Blaster guns shoot small, colorful water pellets that pop on impact, according to the toymaker's website.
Police said one of the cars the boys shot at was a white Subaru hatchback or sedan occupied by three people. After one of the boys shot the car, a passenger rolled down the window and fired one shot at the kids with either a firearm or a pellet gun.
The round grazed the 10-year-old's leg, police said, and his parents took him to the hospital.
James Fahey, the father of the boy who was not injured, says his son and his friend were playing with the blasters in the front yard of his home Friday night.
“He plays with a lot of the kids in the neighborhood," Fahey said of his son. “Everything was fine — I just heard them laughing, playing…”
Fahey says he was moving things around in the garage as the boys were outside near him, but says at some point, the two made their way to a back fence at the end of the street. He says the boys got through a gate and out onto the sidewalk of Alameda Parkway.
“Out of nowhere, I heard my son yell ‘run!’ and I could hear someone running – and then a loud bang," he recalled. “Whether the person was trying to just scare the boys shooting at them, didn’t intentionally try to shoot him, or if that was his intent…either way, you know, I think that’s ridiculous."
Fahey acknowledges that the boys should not have been firing at cars in the first place, and hopes their story serves as a warning.
“I would say if you do have one or your children have one or if you do buy one and your children are outside with one of the Orbeez guns, I would be with them the entire time," Fahey said.
A parent of the boy whose leg was grazed tells 9NEWS that he will be okay, but is shaken up from what happened.
A spokesperson for the Aurora Police Department said in terms of public safety, it's never a good idea to point a firearm at anyone, but especially at night when it's difficult to distinguish the weapon from a real or fake one.
“The victim in this incident was a young boy who was lucky he wasn’t more seriously hurt," the spokesperson wrote. "But it’s also one of those situations that could’ve been avoided altogether.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 or visit metrodenvercrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.
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