A gun. A group of teenagers. And the police.

Those ingredients, mixed together, can produce a dangerous, even deadly, situation. 

Late Friday afternoon, Barrington police received a call from someone who said a 14-year-old boy flashed a gun to another individual while inside the Dunkin Donuts on County Road. Officers responded quickly and were able to track down the boy, who had left the restaurant with a few other teenagers just moments earlier. Police questioned the boys and, after a few minutes, one of the teens fessed up: He said he had a BB gun in his backpack.

Barrington Police Chief Michael Correia said the gun was identical to a real handgun. He said a person would not be able to tell the difference between the BB gun and an actual handgun — there was no orange-tipped nozzle on the BB gun. Chief Correia said the situation easily could have turned dangerous for the 14-year-old boy and his friends. 

A quick internet search offers a list of a tragedies where people brandishing BB guns ended up injured, arrested or killed. Fortunately, that was not the case in Barrington, but Chief Correia hopes Friday’s incident serves as a wakeup call to children — and their parents.