Which One is Real?

June 24, 2022

You have less than one second to make this decision and one of them is pointing at you. Still can’t decide? Neither could our victims and neither can we.

On June 22, 2022 the Williston High School football team was departing Blue Springs from a team building retreat. A vehicle passed by the buses loaded with the players when someone from inside an unidentified white Hyundai car thrust one of the above pictured weapons through the sunroof. Are you still undecided? So were we.

Deputies and Detectives flooded the area in an attempt to locate and stop the white Hyundai. Several of the Williston players believed the Hyundai was being driven by rival team members form Chiefland High School’s football team. This was accurate information, as it turns out.

Detectives located the occupants of the Hyundai and seized the weapon in question. The investigation determined the weapon was an “air-soft” gun. It fires a plastic projectile powered by compressed gas and is technically a “toy”. These toys can be customized to mimic the real thing. They are even used in mock battles and can be modified to precision accuracy. YouTube is full of these types of videos and the accuracy of the toy is astonishing.

This investigation is still on-going and charges are expected to be filed in the near future. One charge being considered is that of aggravated assault with a firearm, a serious felony. Florida Law allows this charge to be filed even though the weapon is technically a toy. Why? Because the victim(s) believed the weapon was real which placed them in actual fear.

Sheriff McCallum wishes to issue a strong warning to parents and to our students and youth. Consider the “toys” you are allowing your children to have and how they could be improperly used. Realize that actions have consequences. We will not tolerate this type of behavior or a violation of law at school or at school activities and that they can lead to deadly results and the real possibility of retaliation.

We are thankful this investigation determined that no real weapon was in the hands of our youth. This situation could have ended much differently. Keep a watchful eye on your children and the “toys” with which they choose to play.