UTPD investigating reports of students being shot by airsoft guns

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The University of Tennessee Police Department has received reports of students being shot by airsoft or Orbeez pistols from moving vehicles, a news release stated.

Officials said that the incidents are under investigation and appear to be part of a social media trend. UTPD said it is working to identify the offenders to seek criminal prosecution.

“We want to make our students aware that engaging in this type of behavior is a crime,” UTPD announced. “You could be charged with simple assault, or a more serious crime should the victim sustain serious bodily injury.”

The first report occurred on Friday, Feb. 11, when a student said two black males in a white sedan shot her on the side with a bb gun. The males then reportedly fled down by west campus toward Cumberland Avenue. The woman said it was related to a girl named Brianna, according to a police report obtained by WVLT News.

On Saturday, Feb. 12, the other report occurred when another student said that she and her boyfriend were walking back from Carrick Hall to Massey Hall when a vehicle drove past them and “shot pellets toward them.”

The woman was hit in the upper eyelid, which resulted in swelling, according to the report.

The City of Knoxville’s ordinance 19-109 prohibits “discharge of air guns, spring guns, etc.,” stating that it is “unlawful for any person to fire or discharge any air gun or air pistol, spring gun or spring pistol, or other device or firearm which is calculated or intended to propel or project a bullet, pellet, air or similar projectile, within the city.”

Officials warn that although it may seem like a game, a person being shot at may perceive the incident as a deadly threat and respond as such.

Those who need assistance on campus or experience a related incident should call the UT Police Department at 865-974-3114.

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