Lyndhurst police respond to report of armed teenager

🚨A caller to 911 said a man had a gun while at a Lyndhurst shopping center

🚨The toy gun's orange stripe was blacked out

🚨Officers located the gun and took it from the teen

LYNDHURST — A report of a teen with a gun in his waistband led to police converging on a Bergen County shopping center parking lot.

A 911 call was made by a witness from the Towne Centre Shopping Plaza  who was able to direct officers to the suspect on Aug. 16, according to Chief Richard L. Jarvis.

Police found the teen was located in a car parked near the AT&T store. The “weapon” was a toy replica Glock pistol in a holster with the required orange safety tip blacked out with a marker.

Mayor Robert B. Giangeruso and Jarvis credited the 911 caller for staying to help the officers locate the suspects.

The juvenile was charged on a juvenile delinquency complaint with possession of an imitation firearm, a fourth-degree crime.

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'Toy' guns are easily purchased

Jarvis said the "toy" Glock was easily purchased on the retail website Temu.com and can easily be converted to look real.

Under New Jersey law, the sale of toy guns and imitation firearms that look real is prohibited, according to the Giffords Law Center. They must be a color other than black, blue, silver, or aluminum and be marked with a non-removable orange stripe. However, that is not always the case.

"I think it's more about the accessibility with online shopping and pretty much access to different vendors that people never would have in the past had access too. I think that's why it's spiraled into what it is," Egg Harbor police Chief Burgan said.

Burgan had to deal with what appeared to be handguns being pointed out the window of a car at the end of the township's National Night Out. They turned out to be a handgun-shaped lighter with a laser attachment and an Airsoft-type handgun.

Jarvis said these incidents serve as a reminder for parents to monitor their children and use better judgment in purchasing toys that resemble actual firearms.

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