LAGUNA NIGUEL : Injury Leads to Ban on Firing BB Guns

Responding to a recent incident in which a 7-year-old boy accidentally shot a 5-year-old friend in the eye with a BB gun, the City Council has banned the discharge of such guns in the city.

“It’s just tragic,” Joe Davis, Laguna Niguel chief of police services, said of the April 9 accident which he said left the child’s eye permanently damaged. Davis said the families are trying to put the incident behind them and have asked that their names not be released.

“They’re trying to just let the children continue to play and just be good neighbors,” he said.

While it was previously illegal to fire the guns in the area, 15 months ago, a change in state law removed BB guns from the category of “firearms,” virtually nullifying the local ordinance, Davis said. Police discovered the change when reviewing city law after the accident, he said.

Although the new law would not likely have made a difference in that case, Davis said police decided that it was still important to address the issue.

“In the evolution of the growth of our community, when we had a lot of wide open space, the use of pellet, or BB guns, for recreation may have been appropriate,” he said. “As we continue to develop, houses are close to each other and we have shared dwelling units.”

Davis said there have been no other reports of injuries as a result of BB gun accidents. However, he said, vandals do use the guns to shoot at street lights, birds and other animals.

Final approval of the ban is expected on May 5.