Man returning toy rifles is mistaken as a dangerous gunman at California mall

A person returning two toy rifles to a gaming business at the Promenade Temecula mall was mistaken for a dangerous gunman on Monday, July 17, prompting employees to take shelter and sheriff’s deputies to search the building from top to bottom.

“There was no evidence of a crime,” Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Brent Irvine wrote in a news release. “This incident did not involve an active shooter event and there were no injuries reported.”

Nevertheless, businesses locked their doors, employees hid and people falsely reported on social media that there was an “active shooter.”

Deputies searched the mall at 40820 Winchester Road, spoke with witnesses and briefly detained the man. The Sheriff’s Department did not identify the business, but the mall hosts Galactic Challenge, a space-themed indoor Airsoft shooting facility where customers can win prizes for hitting targets.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said anyone carrying a similar toy rifle in public should first put it in a case to avoid causing alarm.

“These guns are almost indistinguishable from real firearms and people should be careful to keep them out of view,” Bianco said in an emailed statement.