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Police warn of dangerous social media trend "Orbeez Challenge"
The "Orbeez Challenge" encourages TikTok users to sneak up and attack unsuspecting people with a gel pellet gun. The pellets are water-filled and supposed to splatter on impact.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Police across the country have been issuing warnings about a viral TikTok trend that has left people injured and teenagers arrested. Now, there's been an increase in splatter gun attacks in Loudoun County.
The "Orbeez Challenge" encourages TikTok users to sneak up and attack unsuspecting people with a gel pellet gun. The pellets are water-filled and supposed to splatter on impact.
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Loudoun County assaults could be tied to "Orbeez Challenge"
Police across the country have been issuing warnings about a viral TikTok trend that has left people injured and teenagers arrested. Now, there's been an increase in splatter gun attacks in Loudoun County.
Peachtree City Police in Georgia wrote on Facebook that people are modifying the pellets to make them more painful.
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office in Florida says teens shot a mom and a baby in front of their house, an Amazon driver on his route and other teenagers in a car, leading to a minor crash.
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Loudoun County police investigating string of assaults
Loudoun County police say they are investigating a string of assaults that could be related to a popular and dangerous TikTok challenge. FOX 5's Melanie Alnwick has the details.
Police say these toys can get teens in real trouble.
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"These kids think it’s funny. They’re violating the law. They’re committing a battery," says Captain Mike Allen of the Winter Garden Police. "If the pellet happens to injure the person to the point it breaks the skin, [you] could be looking at a felony charge. These things don’t go away. [It] could affect your future."
FOX 5 has learned of six incidents in Loudoun County alone. The reports range from shooting kids at a park, shooting at drivers and firing upon a child riding a bike.
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In some cases, the shooters were driving by in a car, similar to an incident FOX 5 reported on last month in Arlington where a couple was hit 30 times with paintballs.
READ MORE: Arlington couple hit 30 times with paintballs in one of two drive-by shootings
There were minor injuries reported in the Loudoun County incidents and in one case, the sheriff's office had identified the young people involved. They say the others remain under investigation.