The hydrogel gunsa toy that has gained popularity among children and adolescents, is generating concern among health experts, security agents and neighborhood associations due to the risks they represent for the physical integrity of minors and coexistence in public spaces.
The Sergeant Lucía Cruz Polancospokesperson for the National Police in La Vega, said on January 7 that, during the celebration for the holiday of Three Kings Daythey developed preventive operations in the face of clashes that were reported between groups of young people who simulated guerrilla actions using these toy gunsaffecting the tranquility of citizens in the province of Cibaeña.
“During these interventions, several minors and an adult were arrested, in addition to occupying several toy guns. The institution urges the population, especially young people, to stop these bad practices since they disrupt public order,” Cruz said in statements to members of the press.
The detained young people were returned to their families and the pistols were seized by the Regional Directorate“so that those actions are not repeated.”
Fear in Cancino Adentro
For their part, residents of the Cancino Adentro sector reported concern and fear over the growing practice among minors and young adults who, hooded and wearing pellet gunsthey walk the streets to confront each other as part of what they describe as “new entertainment.”
According to the community members, the participants move at high speed aboard motorcycles and vehiclescovered with hoods and simulating operations or chases, which keeps families in the sector in anxiety, especially in the afternoon and evening hours when confrontations are more frequent.
“This practice represents a high risk for the physical integrity of those involved and passersby, due to the possibility that the plastic projectiles impact the face or eyes, potentially causing serious injuriesincluding loss of vision,” residents told the press.
Likewise, they assured that many of the young people who participate in these actions belong to gangs and groups known as “nations”, which, according to them, increases tension and danger of confrontations.
The residents called on the Minister of the Interior and Police, Faride Raful, and the director of the National Police, Major General Ramón Antonio Guzmán Peraltato urgently intervene through prevention, surveillance and disarmament operations in the area, in addition to the identification and subjugation of the alleged ringleaders.
In the Dominican Republic there is no specific regulation that prohibits or controls the sale and use of hydrogel gunswhich allows these devices to be purchased in online stores and toy stores.
Kevin Rosario used his Instagram account to notify that his brother was affected without even participating in “a guerrilla.”
“My brother is healing because he was hit with one of those pods in the eye without being involved and he almost lost it (yes, even if you have your eye closed it does a lot of damage)”, he wrote on the social network.
“For me that is not a game, that is vandalism and it affects people who have nothing to do with it.”supposed game’“, responded a user identified as Mabel Castellanos.
The “Orbeez Challenge”, as it is known in English, is a challenge born on the social network TikTok that invites young people to shoot bullets or beads of water or gel at other people, with these air compression toy guns, often while driving a vehicle.
Upon contact with water, the orbeez or hydrogel bullets inflate and can grow up to 150 times their size.
On the Amazon portal, prices range from $21 to $40.
Confusion with a real weapon
Last July, the police in Saint Louis, Missouri, in the United States, reported the case of a man who shot a young man with his real weapon before the shock of seeing him with the hydrogel gun and believing that it was a legitimate firearm.
“In our training we are taught that, if you see a weapon, you cannot treat it as a toy, you must assume that it is real because otherwise, that is how they kill you,” he said in this regard. John Videmscheka former sergeant who now sells real estate in Missouri.
Damage to the eyeball
Meanwhile, Fabian Bogadoa Paraguayan ophthalmologist, emphasized that, despite being considered toysthe speed with which the balls are propelled can cause severe damage to the eyeball.
“It can cause from blunt trauma until the eyeball ruptures and, consequently, loses the organ,” he warned.
“Any projectile can be harmful to the eye, it is a very sensitive organ. The cornea is the most superficial layer of the eye, it is the most innervated and sensitive tissue. So, any scratch bothers us enough, imagine a projectile of that magnitude,” said the specialist.
“The recommendation that I would give to parents is that do not give these types of toys as gifts because it is dangerous even though many wear glasses-type protection. “It’s better to avoid that kind of problem,” he concluded.
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Specialists insist that, if its use is allowed, it must be under adult supervision, with protective glasses and away from other people or animals, and only by adults or responsible adolescents.
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However, many suggest that the most prudent thing is to avoid their use until they are properly regulated and certified according to recognized safety standards.
