Police warn residents about Nerf gun wars… you can’t make this stuff up.

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — Police in Butler County are warning residents about Nerf gun fights as spring approaches.

The Middletown Police Department advised residents and game participants to be mindful of each other in a public service announcement on Facebook on Sunday.

The police department acknowledges that the gadgets are harmless. However, officials say that residents can become scared when participants wear masks or hide on private property.

Police say teens also paint the toy guns black which makes the toys look more realistic.

The department says that participants should make sure their Nerf guns are bright and avoid trespassing. Officials also reminded those involved with the game that Ohio is an open carry state.
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LITTLETON, Mass. (AP) — State police have arrested a man they say opened a fire on another vehicle in a road rage incident on Interstate 495 in Littleton.

Police say 27-year-old Steven Perez, of Marlborough, displayed a handgun to another driver on the highway at about 3:15 p.m. Sunday and fired at least one shot at another vehicle.

There were no reports of injuries.

Police say Perez eventually got off the highway onto Route 117.

His Honda Civic was found abandoned in Marlborough and Perez was arrested. Police didn’t say what led to the road rage.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges including assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license.

It’s not clear if he has a lawyer.

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CLEVELAND (AP) — Cleveland police say a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot as he and another teenager ran from a vehicle where someone had tried to rob them.

Police say the teen boys were riding in a Jeep with two other males on Saturday evening when one of those occupants pointed a gun at them and demanded money. A 16-year-old in the back seat handed over some cash before running from the vehicle with the younger teen, who was shot in the back as they fled.

The medical examiner’s office identified him as Jaevelle Swift. The second teen wasn’t hurt.

Police haven’t publicly identified the suspected shooter or the other male who was in the vehicle.

It was the second fatal shooting of a teenager in the city in as many weeks.

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FOUNTAIN INN, S.C. (AP) — Authorities say the death of man shot and killed by Greenville County deputies has been ruled a suicide by provocation.

Deputy Coroner Jeff Fowler said Sunday that the 50-year-old Joseph Scott Inabinet didn’t shoot himself, but that his death was ruled a suicide because he provoked others into killing him. He died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Sheriff Will Lewis told the Greenville News that deputies responded early Saturday to a 911 call from a woman who said her estranged husband was on the porch with a shotgun.

Lewis says that when deputies arrived at the home near Fountain Inn, the man pointed a gun at them and asked “do you not see my gun?” He says deputies had no choice other than to shoot the man.

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ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers passed dozens of bills Friday, rushing to meet a key deadline for the 40-day session.

Legislation had to pass at least one chamber by the day’s end to remain alive for the year. There are ways around the deadline but lawmakers still try to get proposals through in time.

Here’s a look at some of the day’s top items:

GUN PURCHASE RIGHTS

People who have been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital will be able to request the right to purchase a gun before the end of the standard five-year ban under a bill approved by the Senate.

The proposal creates a mechanism that allows courts to verify whether a person is of sound mental health before being removed from the five-year ban list. Currently that list is purged automatically.

In a late amendment before Friday’s vote, senators added a provision that will change the definition of a knife from 5-inches to 12-inches, meaning that a person does not need a weapons permit to wield a blade shorter than a foot.

The bill received bipartisan support. It now goes to the House.

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GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Authorities in South Carolina say deputies answering a 911 call have shot and killed a man who pointed a gun at them.

Sheriff Will Lewis told local media outlets that deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call Saturday in Greenville County, about 30 miles west of Spartanburg, in which the woman who called 911 said her estranged husband was on the porch of the home with a gun.

Lewis said as deputies approached the man, he pointed a gun at them and said, “Do you not see my gun?” Lewis said deputies had no choice but to shoot the man, who he said died at the scene.

Five deputies who answered the call are on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division and the Greenville County Coroner.

The man’s identity hasn’t been released.

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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Senate has approved a bill to require people involved in domestic violence situations to surrender their guns and prohibit them from purchasing guns while a protective order is in effect.

The Senate’s 25-15 vote Saturday sends the bill sponsored by Democratic Sen. Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces to the House for consideration.

Under the bill, surrendered firearms would be turned over for safekeeping to law enforcement, a federally licensed gun dealer or an individual who has undergone a federal background check and who is not a household member of the gun owner.

The bill requires a court to determine whether a person presents “a credible threat” and requires that the person be given notice and an opportunity to be heard.

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