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An eyewitness report of a man brandishing a handgun brought Officers Matthew Dudek, Anthony Giaquinto, and Robert Litterio to a home on Copeland Avenue between Stuyvesant and 10th Street.
Witnesses reportedly told police 33-year-old resident Ronnie Williams had fired several projectiles from an airsoft gun, hitting one of them.
Thankfully, the victim wasn’t seriously injured, they said.
Airsoft guns are replica weapons designed to shoot recycled plastic ammunition at targets. Although not lethal, the projectiles can cause welts and other serious injuries, especially around the eyes.
The weapons look genuine: Some manufacturers reportedly use molds of the originals. Unless closely examined, they can look like the real thing.
At that point, of course, it could be too late. Police don’t have the luxury of waiting to find out. That’s why New Jersey bans selling or openly carrying them.
The particular weapon seized from Williams was an exact replica of a handgun, according to the police report.
Officers took him into custody, charged him with aggravated assault, weapons offenses and disorderly conduct and added a shoplifting count stemming from a Nov. 27 incident at a Riverside Avenue business.
Williams had been arrested just two weeks before that after he refused to move his illegally parked car from a handicapped spot, police said.
This time, police sent him to the Bergen County Jail to await a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
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