LYNNWOOD — It’s only capable of making noise, but a realistic cap gun used during a road rage incident Tuesday was enough to get a man in serious trouble, police said.
The man who allegedly shot the toy gun around noon Tuesday near the intersection of Highway 99 and Lincoln Way was arrested for investigation of first-degree assault, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
“We’re not going to play a guessing game. We’re going to treat it as if it’s the real thing,” she said.
Police were called when a man driving a red Chevy Blazer reportedly pointed a gun at a driver in a Honda Prelude, Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen said.
The suspect told police that the Honda had cut him off, Rudeen said.
The man in the Honda believed he’d been shot at and called 911, Rudeen said.
“Obviously, nobody was shot because it’s a toy gun,” Hover said.
Still, the victim was frightened. Some toy guns can look very realistic, Hover said.
“There’s no way for law officers to know (if it’s a fake),” she said. “We’re not going to take any chances.”
Sheriff’s deputies, Lynnwood police and Washington State Patrol troopers arrested the suspect and his passenger, both men apparently in their 20s, at a Taco Bell on Highway 99, Hover said. The passenger was arrested for outstanding warrants. The driver was booked into Snohomish County Jail.
Using a gun, real or fake, can be extremely dangerous, Hover said.
“What if someone responds with the real thing?” she said. “That could happen with the victim or with an officer responding.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
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