Two teenagers have been charged for allegedly pulling fake guns during an argument with a group of children amidst a basketball game in Naugatuck near a school on Saturday.
Officers were first alerted to the incident when they received a report shortly before 4 p.m. of a suspicious male outside the ION Bank, located at 24 Cherry St., according to the Naugatuck Police Department.
Investigating officers then learned that two 13-year-olds brandished firearms while arguing with a group of juveniles during a basketball game near Salem School, police said. The group dispersed through the downtown area when officers were called, according to police.
Police said they were able to identify the two teens who brandished the phony guns before recovering three facsimile firearms that resembled real guns.
Both teens were charged with selling, carrying and brandishing a facsimile firearm. One of the teens was also charged with first-degree threatening and second-degree breach of peace, police said.
“The Naugatuck Police remind the public of the danger these facsimile firearms pose to the community, as no amount of training can differentiate between the two when used in a crime,” police wrote in a statement.