By Patrick Sullivan, Staff Writer
Last week on April 13, Gettysburg College’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) received multiple reports of “individuals driving through campus firing pellet/airsoft guns at pedestrians.” Local police were called to the scene to investigate. The vehicle was described as a gray sedan.
DPS, after gathering information, learned that seven individuals in the College community were struck from April 12 to April 13. Several other reports came in after the safety alert was issued on April 13.
In their final update on April 14, DPS explained that “late last night [on Wednesday, April 13], the Gettysburg Police department was able to identify the individual involved.”
Paul Argen ‘22 was walking back from his class down North Washington Street on April 12 when a car “came down the street at a normal speed and slowed down.” Argen heard it hit the package he was carrying and his backpack. He explained that “it sounded like an airsoft gun,” and “then they just sped off and turned a corner on the next street.”
Another anonymous student witnessed an incident on April 13 while riding his bike from class. “When I got to around the Jaeger Center, a car pulled up and started shooting but it was behind me so I did not see what was happening,” said the student. The student added that “it just felt like a bee sting … It wasn’t anything bad.” When asked if they saw the driver, the student replied “I saw two of them in the car … they were laughing.”
The reports on Gettysburg’s campus are consistent with drive-by shootings of water-filled gel beads across the nation, in states like California, Kansas, and New Jersey. The incidents are consistent with the TikTok trend called the “Orbeez Challenge.” The trend has caused police departments across the nation to issue warnings against the challenge. The beads can be modified to be more painful and can be confused with airsoft and pellet guns.
