University Park police confiscated realistic replicas of guns from four 11-year-old children on Sunday.
"I saw a couple of kids with, I thought they were shot guns at first, and I called the cops," resident Rogers Healy said.
The children had Airsoft guns, realistic replicas of real guns that shoot tiny pellets, along Asbury Street.
"They are very realistic, and just an ordinary person at first sight might think they are real," police spokeswoman Lita Snellgrove said.
"They had like orange tips on the tops, so you knew it wasn't a real gun, but still it's kind of scary, especially for Park Cities," Healy said.
The children said they were "playing war." Their parents bought them the guns, they said.
But police said they are still dangerous.
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"They shoot a small round pellet, which can be very dangerous," Snellgrove said. "I mean, if it hit your eye, it can put your eye out."
Officers confiscated the guns because it is illegal to shoot a gun, even an airgun, within University Park city limits.
The children said they always use goggles, but neighbors said they were worried a stray pellet could harm somebody.
"They shouldn't be used except under supervision and outside the city, certainly not just fired indiscriminately," resident Ray Grisset said. "It's dangerous."
University Park police said Sunday's incident wasn't their first with Airsoft guns. Anyone caught shooting them can be given a citation.
No one has been hurt by an airgun, according to police.
