A mum has spoken out after her son was left 'traumatised' following an armed police incident in Tameside on Tuesday (April 14).
It followed reports of a suspected gun at around 5pm. Officers responded and found a group of school-aged teenagers at the scene who had been in the vicinity.
Videos shared on Facebook showed the drama as it unfolded, with several police vehicles at the scene, including armed police. A police helicopter was also spotted circling the area amid the major response.
As you would expect from a report of a firearm….
Eye-witnesses claimed they saw youths with a toy cap gun who were understood to be 'firing it' at each other at the McDonalds restaurant. Police rapidly responded after reports were made via 999.
Reports of youths with a cap gun? No, a real one presumably.
The mum of a 13-year-old who was arrested and surrounded by police with guns has now told of how her son was 'traumatised' and 'woke up screaming' following the ordeal. He had bought the toy gun with friends and was 'playing' with it before officers raced to the scene.
Oh no, a traumatised child!
The mum, who asked to remain anonymous (Ed: And no wonder...), said her son had finished MMA training when he bought the toy gun. She explained: "He'd finished training and wanted a McFlurry from McDonald's. Before that he'd been to a shop and bought this cheap snap gun that makes a noise."Him and his friends had it, and I don't think they understood it could have been perceived as anything other than a toy. They were playing with it and didn't intend to cause fear. They are only kids.
"It would've been obvious it was just a small silver plastic toy. But then the police came and my son was scared and put it down and tried to run. He was treated like he had a gun and was pushed to the ground and arrested by officers with guns. My son is only small."
Why should the size matter? How big do you have to be to pull a trigger?
She added: "It's been absolutely traumatising for him. I understand in a real situation the police would have to act on the severity of it, and I don't blame them. But it's clear someone rang the police because they were annoyed with the kids who were being a nuisance or annoying.
So who do you blame, the people reporting it? They may not have been acting responsibly but they may well have been. Surely you can’t expect everyone to know these days if it’s just ‘kids being kids’ as those days are long gone!
