The confiscation of a strikingly realistic looking pellet handgun has raised concerns with officials that authentic looking pellet guns could lead to a tragic mistake.

Officers received an anonymous tip at about 5 p.m. Monday that a student in Dellplain Residence Hall had a pellet rifle, said Senior Lt. Grant Williams. When officers responded and confronted the student, he said that he did not have a rifle but revealed he had a pellet gun pistol and more specifically one that looked and felt exactly like a glock handgun, said Director of Public Safety Marlene Hall.

A glock is a handgun commonly used by law enforcement officials because of its firing capability. The pistol contains all of the physical features of a glock, including the same clip, which looks like it contains a round of actual ammunition and the same firing action and chamber, Williams said. He said it would not be unlikely that if a police officer saw someone carrying a similar gun, the officer might think it was a real gun and fire upon the person.

“When the gun looks like that, no one is going to wait to see if it is a real gun or a pellet gun,” he said.

Public Safety officials referred the student to Judicial Affairs, and he will be punished under article 12 of the code of student conduct, which states, “Unauthorized possession or use of any weapon, including firearms, BB-guns, air rifles, explosive devices, fireworks or any other dangerous, illegal or hazardous object or material, and improper use as a weapon of any otherwise permitted object or material.”

Several years ago in Day Residence Hall, a student included a gun similar to the one found in Dellplain in his Halloween costume, Williams said. When someone called Public Safety with a report that a student had a gun that year, Williams responded with a Syracuse police officer. The student heard that the police were going to Day and went downstairs to meet the officers at the door, Williams said. The student had the gun extended to show the officers it was only a prop gun, but it looked so authentic that Williams hit the floor and the police officer drew his weapon, he said.

Williams is afraid this same scenario could be played out again with a pellet gun that looks so realistic and is worried that this time, the consequences could be graver.

Hall said not only are the increasing number of look-alike pellet guns a problem, but Public Safety officers have found real guns on campus in the past years.

“A concern is not just that you can’t tell the difference but that officers have been finding real ones,” she said.

On Jan. 26, Public Safety received a tip that someone on South Campus had a gun in his or her apartment, Hall said. Public Safety again notified the police department, and based on the tip, the university authorized Public Safety and police to search for the weapon, Williams said.

Officers found a .380 automatic pistol, fully loaded, underneath a bed in the apartment, Hall said.

The gun did not belong to a student but to someone who was staying with the student, she said. The man who was arrested on the gun charge has subsequently pleaded guilty and been sentenced to a year-and-a-half in prison. There were instances in 1999, 2000 and 2001 of illegal weapons being taken from students’ rooms, she said.

Hall stressed that Public Safety is not on a witch hunt and respects the privacy rights of students, but those in the community should report if another student has a gun or other weapon either anonymously, using the silent witness program on Public Safety’s Web site or by calling in the tip.

“Sometimes people don’t want to get involved,” she said. “The problem is if you don’t get involved and you allow drugs or weapons to be around thinking nothing is going to happen, you allow the problem to fester.”

Published on February 18, 2003 at 12:00 pm