If the gun had a regulation-orange tip, it got sawed off. I thought from the original crime scene photo that it looked a little odd at the business end.
Exactly what I was wondering. Did it have an orange tip which was removed? And why? Would that have even made a difference in this situation? Too many questions.
Pellet guns don’t have an orange tip.
It would seem easier to repaint or touch up than to cut it off. I don’t understand cutting it off.
Anyhow. People are getting stupider. The boy ought to have known that acting like an ass with a toy gun could get him killed. People have no X ray vision that will tell them “Ah, a Toy! No danger!” A private citizen who got pointed at with that thing would have been within rights to do the same.
This would be one good use for those otherwise silly warning tags. “Acting like an ass in public with this toy can get you killed.”
That said, it’s sad. I don’t have any further ideas, but to simply lynch the cop seems like a possible vast overreaction.