After responding to a call about a firearm being displayed in Athens, the Menard County Sheriff’s Office is urging individuals to keep from using air-soft weapons that appear as though they are real firearms. The air-soft gun in question appeared to have all of the characteristics of a real gun including a loaded magazine.
The Sheriff’s Department sent out a post on Facebook asking people to not keep these types of weapons. In the post, the Department says, “When officers/deputies arrive on a scene they are often faced with split-second decisions. Imagine an officer/deputy being faced with an individual possessing the weapon shown. Please don’t turn an already difficult situation into a terrible one by carrying or possessing items like this. Something like this could have easily turned into a tragedy.”
The Athens Police Department is still investigating the issue further and no greater information has been released.