DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The LAPD responded to a report of four armed suspects on the roof of a downtown building. The suspects disappeared and officers discovered the weapons were plastic toy guns.

Four suspects could be seen on the rooftop of Huntington Hotel building, waving what looked like rifles in the air.

The suspects disappeared into the building after depositing the weapons on top of a stairway vestibule on the roof.

Police officers emerged from another stairway vestibule approximately 10 minutes after the suspects went inside.

An officer climbed onto the vestibule and retrieved two to three weapons.

Officers discovered the weapons were air guns loaded with plastic pellets.

The fake guns are reportedly Airsoft-brand rifles, plastic toys designed to look like real guns.

Police determined there was no crime committed and were preparing to leave the scene.

The four individuals were not located. They are believed to be juveniles.

Police had evacuated the area and established a perimeter around the building.

The building is located at 725 S. Main near 8th Street.

An LAPD air unit also responded.

"Plastic toys"..... Damn that pisses me off. Ive always hated it when people use the term toys to describe airsoft guns.

^^^thats actually a good point but its so degrading and insulting

Come on, we are kids, teenagers, and adults playing dress up and shooting each other with toy guns. If anything, the truth hurts, but it is not degrading or insulting.

"Plastic toys"..... Damn that pisses me off. Ive always hated it when people use the term toys to describe airsoft guns.

You own a plastic toy gun. That is what it is. What would you like them to call it?

By law, if you are under 18 years of age, your parents own your airsoft guns.

By law, if you are under 18 years of age, your parents own your airsoft guns.

Gunn High locked down after student brings Airsoft gun to school
By Diana Samuels
Daily News Staff Writer

A Gunn High student was arrested Thursday afternoon after he brought an Airsoft pellet gun to school, sparking campus-wide alarm that resulted in a 45-minute lockdown, Palo Alto police said.

Two students were spotted entering the campus parking lot in a convertible, with one holding the pellet gun on his lap, police said. After a dramatic search, police detained the young men, arresting 18-year-old Weston Healy. The Airsoft gun, which closely resembles an actual firearm and shoots small, plastic pellets, was found in the convertible's trunk.

"I believe the suspect said he made a poor decision," Palo Alto police Officer Marianna Villaescusa said.

Police were called at 2 p.m. by a Palo Alto city employee who saw a young man sitting in the passenger seat of the convertible with what looked like a rifle on his lap, Villaescusa said.

Classes had just let out for the day and students were packing up or walking down the school's hallways when a "code red" lockdown was announced over the loudspeaker and teachers called them back inside.

"They just said, 'This is a code red or something, this is not a drill,' " 15-year-old sophomore Taylor Aguon said.

"I was just kind of pulled into a classroom," 16-year-old sophomore Ellyssa Wong added. "My friend like dragged me."

The teachers barricaded the doors with classroom furniture, Villaescusa said. Anne Sommer, a 15-year-old freshman, said they didn't have time to cover the windows in her science classroom, so students hid beneath lab tables.

"It was just kind of a surprise at first because we thought it was a drill," Anne said. "Then we realized they were actually being really serious."

As police were tracking down more information, a person called from nearby Los Robles Avenue to report hearing gunshots. Police also got a call from a student's mother, who said her daughter was being held at gunpoint inside a classroom, Villaescusa said.

At that point, the department called Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Los Gatos police for backup. The Stanford University Department of Public Safety was already helping.

"We err on the side of safety," Villaescusa said. "We treat everything 100 percent like it's real."

The registered owner of the vehicle was able to help police identify the students, Villaescusa said. Gunn Assistant Principal Phil Winston helped officers find them in a classroom, she said.

In addition to the Airsoft gun, police found two face masks, a shovel with a 4-inch pick, a hatchet with a removable saw, and a military-style knife with a 7-inch blade in the car.

"All in all, things worked out really well for all involved," Villaescusa said. "Nobody was hurt and the system worked the way it is supposed to."

Police also found the girl whose mother reported she was being held at gunpoint, and briefly detained the girl before she explained it was a miscommunication. She told her mother the school was on lockdown and her mother misunderstood. The girl was handcuffed "for less than one minute," Villaescusa said.

"We didn't know if she was involved or if she was part of what was going on," Villaescusa said.

It was unclear Thursday afternoon what disciplinary action Healy could face from either the school or the city. Possessing an Airsoft gun in public is a municipal code violation in Palo Alto; Healy was arrested on suspicion of possessing a weapon on a school campus and booked into Santa Clara County jail. As of Thursday evening, Healy was still in custody, his bail set at $10,000, according to jail spokesman Mark Cursi.

District officials could not be reached for comment. Gunn Assistant Principal Kimberley Cowell sent an e-mail to parents around 3:20 p.m., explaining that "Gunn experienced a Code Red as a safety precaution.

"At no time were students or staff in danger," the message read. "Students and staff did an excellent job of following the Code Red procedure and the Palo Alto Police Department's response was immediate and extremely effective."

Students said rumors were flying and there were "20 different stories" about what had happened and who was responsible. The experience was "pretty intense," sophomore Taylor said.

"I kept thinking of the worst case," she said.

Two students arrested over an airsoft pistol
Hawthorne High School was locked down for about a half-hour Thursday afternoon before two students were arrested for their alleged involvement with an airsoft pistol on campus.

One of the students was accused of brandishing the gun at other students and the other student was accused of trying to conceal the weapon.

According to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, the students were both male, one 15 and the other 14. One of the students apparently brought the gun onto campus Thursday morning intending to use it to intimidate other students, deputies said.

Airsoft guns are replicas of real weapons and are used to fire small plastic projectiles. Florida laws do not differentiate between airsoft weapons and real weapons, according to sheriff's spokesman Lt. Steve Maynard.

"We got a 911 call from the parent of a student who told that parent about the gun. Once we got the tip, we got the school to lock down so that no one could leave or enter the campus and brought in the dogs that are trained to detect weapons, gunpowder and that sort of thing," Maynard said. "Before we could begin a search of the school with the dogs, one of the kids involved told us where to find the gun."

After deputies recovered the pistol from one of the arrested students' lockers around 1:30 p.m., the lockdown was ended.

"One student brought the gun to campus, brandished it at other students who screamed and ran off, and then the student who brought the gun stashed it in a restroom wastebasket," Maynard said.

"Then he went to class and apparently told his buddy, who got a hall pass, went to the restroom and retrieved the gun and put it in his own locker before going back to class."

Maynard said an investigation into the incident was continuing Thursday afternoon.

Alachua County schools spokeswoman Jackie Johnson said there have been five known cases of students bringing airsoft guns onto campuses in the county this school year.

Believe it or not, there was a "drive by shooting" with an airsoft gun at my own house last week. Some punk shot at my little brother and sister while they were playing basketball in our front yard. They had to run inside the house and hide. Oh how I wish I had been outside...

Ebsilon,

Drama seems to follow you around.