Patch Readers Sound Off: Toy Guns and Air Soft Guns

Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who was carrying a toy AK-47 on Tuesday, October 22, 2013.  On Friday there was a protest march in Santa Rosa attended by mostly teens.

In the wake of Andy Lopez Cruz's tragic death, we asked Patch readers on Facebook whether they allow their children to play with realistic-looking toy guns, and, if so, what precautions they take. 

Some readers criticized police, while others called the death tragic for all involved. Many readers noted that toy guns usually have an identifying orange tip, which Lopez's lacked.

Here are some of the comments we gathered from Patch Facebook pages.

Megan Windell wrote on the Martinez Patch Facebook page, “I cant imagine what that officer is going through right now.  So many kids are getting shot lately for not following instructions. We need to have classes in school teaching kids how to react when an officer gives them instructions.”

Oliver Jb writing on the Walnut Creek Patch Facebook page said, “no, for this and many other reasons. Play does not need realistic toy guns and the chances of some nutcase (or the cops) mistaking it for something real and shooting first are way too high.”

Do you agree with the comments?  Tell us your opinion in the comments and take our poll that is open to all Bay Area Patch readers.