Oxford police warn parents after two airsoft gun calls involving minors

Two minors carrying airsoft guns that looked like real firearms prompted Oxford police to answer separate calls this week, underscoring how quickly a child’s game can become a public-safety emergency in Lafayette County. With school out and more young people outside, police said the risk grows when a replica weapon is visible in public and cannot be distinguished from a real gun.

The Oxford Police Department said the problem is not airsoft itself, but the way it is carried and used. In a town like Oxford, where officers often respond fast and under uncertainty, a toy that closely resembles a firearm can alarm bystanders, send businesses or neighbors scrambling, and force officers to make split-second decisions before they know what they are facing.

Police said they want parents to talk with children now, before another misunderstanding turns dangerous. The department is asking families to address decision-making and the possibility that one careless choice can carry consequences far beyond a moment of play. That warning matters in Oxford and across Lafayette County, where any call involving what appears to be a gun can escalate before anyone has time to sort out intent.

The city says Oxford police has 91 sworn officers and more than 114 total staff, a size that reflects the round-the-clock pace of calls in a college town and county seat. Federal law defines a look-alike firearm to include air-soft guns firing nonmetallic projectiles, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission says federal marking rules for toy, look-alike and imitation firearms have applied to products manufactured and entered into commerce on or after May 5, 1989.

The public-safety concern is not theoretical. Associated Press research found at least 20 deaths over two decades in incidents where police mistook lookalike guns for actual firearms. Other recent cases show how fast a replica can prompt a major response: in September 2025, a juvenile with an airsoft replica weapon led to a shelter-in-place and a large police response at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and on May 19, 2025, New York State Police said juveniles fired a toy Orbeez gun and an airsoft gun from a vehicle, setting off a shots-fired call before investigators determined the guns were toys.

For Oxford families, the message is straightforward. Airsoft equipment should be stored securely, transported carefully and never handled in places where it could be mistaken for a real weapon. In a community where officers, students, parents and business owners all share the same streets, appearance can matter as much as intent, and a split-second misunderstanding can change everything.