Police arrest boy, man after confrontations with BB guns at Mayfair

Published on: 1/8/2013

Wauwatosa police responded to two calls of teenagers armed with BB guns at Mayfair Mall in the days after Christmas, with one case connected to rumors of an attempted flash mob at the mall.

According to the Wauwatosa police reports:

A 19-year-old Milwaukee man and a 14-year-old Milwaukee boy were arrested on different cases of firearms possession around Mayfair on Dec. 26. The first one, taking place at 5 p.m., had police holding a 14-year-old and his friends at gunpoint after they thought he was carrying a real gun. The second arrest took place after police broke up a fight outside of McDonalds, 3131 N. Mayfair Road.

The 14-year-old and his friends brought a BB gun to the mall because they "weren't thinking." They saw rumors on Facebook that a lot of people were going to the mall, so they took two BB guns to the mall in their pants. One armed boy couldn't keep the gun from falling out of the waistline of his pants and several employees thought he had a real gun. The employees called the police, who caught the boy and friends walking out the front door.

An officer immediately held the 14-year-old and his two friends at gunpoint and told them to get down. The boy threw his gun, the tip painted black to look like a real pistol, into the snow. He was arrested and his friends were let go.

The second incident began in the mall before it migrated to McDonalds. The 19-year-old man and his brother were apparently offended by another man staring them down them in the mall. After going to McDonalds, they found him again. The man's brother started a fight with the other man and when the 19-year-old tried breaking it up a BB gun fell out of his pants.

The police had already been called to sort out the fight but the man ran off. He was later caught behind a nearby Mobil gas station and arrested.