Our buddy Thumpy, posted a news entry about a Halloween costume that backfired at this Scoop.it page. We proceeded to check it out and indeed it is about a report of a woman who decided that a camo and an airsoft replica would make such a fine and hot halloween costume, no matter how the national media have been screaming about mass shootings and police shooting a 13-year old kid who was about to return a borrowed AK airsoft replica to a friend in California.

The Wenatchee World in Wenatchee, Washington State reports about the eventual consequence of the decision of the woman to wear camo and carry a replica firearm in public --- she caused a school lock down when she was spotted passing by Lewis and Clark Elementary School by a motorist who called 911.

Parents waiting for the kids from the school were shocked when they see armed police going to the school to look for the alleged gunman. They were able to find her at a nearby apartment and boy was she lucky. Instead of being frisked, arrested, or worse shot by armed police, she was advised that carrying an airsoft gun as part of the costume was "probably not the wisest of ideas" the news report said.

With all the efforts done by the airsoft community to avoid using airsoft and even tactical gear as costume during Halloween, even many of the airsoft Youtube channels making their own PSA videos, still there will be some who might not have been reached by the message. Still it does not mean to say that the airsoft community has been remiss in reminding everyone as there will be some who might fall through the cracks. Just more public safety campaigns  will be needed to be conducted by the airsoft community and the airsoft industry in cooperation with the police and local community.

Something that can be praised with the Wenatchee police is that even with a potential active shooter situation at a school they kept restraint upon finding the woman with the replica firearm. We wonder how the scene worked out that with the armed police not raising their rifles at the young woman. Andy Lopez wasn't lucky even if he was a 13-year old boy.