SO this rampant all the rage gang weapon is not so rampant.
The stats speak for themselves - rifles of all types are very, very rarely used to commit crimes of any type.
I think the issue here is that the police responded to a weapons call and saw a person dressed to fit the gang banger profile carrying a replica of an AK-47 with a sawed off barrel that was indistinguishable under the circumstances from a real, functional sawed off barrel AK , the mere possession of which is a felony with a 10 year prison sentence.
They made a snap, on the spot decision based on this scenario.
This type of sawed off barrel AK is a big time status symbol in the gangster subculture, which may have been the reason the young man may have modified his pellet gun to look exactly like the real thing.
That’s a fact.
In this case, he may have unfortunately done too good of job making his toy look like the real deal.
That’s tragic for all concerned.
A snap decision that 10 years wasn't good enough for them