Use of replica guns among youth on the rise in Windsor

Guns and gangs prevention project A new initiative at the Sandwich Teen Action Group is trying to prevent youth from joining gangs.

The Essex County Youth Diversion program is currently managing three separate cases involving individuals under 18 years old who were carrying replica guns, highlighting a concerning trend among local youth.

Joanna Conrad, the organization's executive director, reported a recent incident where several masked teens displayed replica firearms at a Windsor park.

"They were holding these ... at a playground with children there," Conrad said, noting that referrals to Youth Diversion concerning replica guns began increasing two years ago.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg, because we don't get every referral — and every time a police officer is involved with a kid who has a replica gun, we don't necessarily see that referral."

The growing frequency of such incidents has prompted the Sandwich Teen Action Group (STAG) to initiate the "Guns N Gangs Prevention Project."

This project involves STAG, along with community partners such as local police and at-risk youth programs, conducting surveys over the next two years with individuals under 26 to determine why youth are drawn to guns and gangs.

"The guns are an issue, more than I would have expected," said STAG executive director John Elliott. "Hate to say it, but guns are finding their ways into our institutions."

STAG is a non-profit organization that provides a range of after-school programs for at-risk youth aged 13 to 19.

According to Elliott, the initiative was launched in May after STAG received federal dollars through the Building Safer Communities Fund.

"We have a consultant who will also be working with us on this project. They'll be analyzing a lot of the survey data," he said.

Unlike 3D-printed "ghost guns," which Windsor police noted seeing more of in May, the replica guns Conrad is referring to do not fire real bullets.

Instead, they shoot BBs, gel balls or nothing at all.

"They can be easily purchased on platforms like Amazon. They're too easy to come by and it's an issue because they look so real," Conrad said, adding that Essex County Youth Diversion has seen about 12 referrals for youth using replica guns in the past nine months.

When asked why she believes replica gun use is rising among youth, Conrad attributes it to peer pressure driven by social media.

"Kids are acquiring these guns for so-called fun and they're being used in an effort to make themselves look cooler, to intimidate others or to put on a show of some sort," Conrad said.

Elliott emphasized the importance for young people to understand the consequences of being caught with replica guns, regardless of their intentions.

"One bad choice can lead you down a bad road in life. Just like that, there goes your life," Elliott said.

STAG's partners on the "Guns N Gangs Prevention Project" include Windsor and LaSalle police, Youth Diversion, New Beginnings, the Windsor Port Authority and the MH-100 teen bootcamp.