MIAMISBURG — Two men are in jail, charged with inducing a panic, after “goofing around” with realistic looking BB guns near a busy road, according to the Miamisburg police.
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Quentin Dieterle, 21, and Jeyuan Brown, 18, were chasing each other near SR 725 and Imperial Road, police say. Concerned drivers called 911, believing the men had real firearms.
“Very scary, not a good choice,” Kevin Turner from Miamisburg said.
Turner and Anastasia Sterling said they would have been concerned if they saw two men running around with guns. The BB guns were all black, except for an orange tip.
“I definitely could see how someone could think it was a real gun,” Turner said. “I know the toy guns have the orange safety tips, but when it seems like chaos is going on, nobody’s going to notice that.”
Miamisburg Sergeant Justin Small said they started receiving calls about the men just after 4 p.m. Thursday.
Multiple agencies responded because of the busy highway and proximity to the mall.
“It just can create a very dangerous situation with just people’s perception of what is going on,” Small said.
Dieterle and Brown told police they were just messing around, but police say it isn’t a laughing matter.
“It’s something that we take very seriously, the safety of the people doing business and traveling in that area,” Small said.
According to police, both men are in county jail and charged with inducing panic. Brown is also charged with obstructing official business.
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