Police seek witnesses to gel bead blaster incident at AMC Theater

CREVE COEUR, Missouri – Creve Coeur police are investigating terrifying moments for families enjoying a movie at an AMC theater over the weekend when a juvenile began shooting gel beads into the crowd.

Police said the Orbeez gun seized looked like a toy, but Saturday’s incident was anything but a game.

“They are firing projectiles, which is against the law. It doesn’t matter if they are gel bullets, plastic bullets or metal bullets. Any type of projectile weapon is illegal to fire in public and can cause injury,” said Lt. Jonathan McIntosh of the Creve Coeur Police Department.

Officers arrested a juvenile on Saturday night after witnesses said a teenager wearing a ski mask stood up and began shooting gel beads into the crowd.

“This really could have ended in tragedy if there had been someone carrying a concealed weapon who viewed this as a threat to their life, or if there had been a police officer in the theater who had responded when we received the 911 calls that someone was shooting in a theater,” said Lt. McIntosh.

The officers were on site within minutes of the emergency call and found the teenager.

“We took the juvenile we took into custody to the Family Court building and were told he did not meet the criteria for detention,” said Lt. McIntosh.

St. Louis County Family Court officials say police may still file charges. Officials are asking witnesses and victims to come forward.

“We are putting together a case to present to the family courts so that we can make sure that we get all the victims involved in the case and all the witnesses to make a good prosecution,” said Lt. McIntosh.