- Several police departments have released statements about people using gel blasters to shoot Orbeez.
- The hashtag #orbeezgun has over 24 million views on TikTok, with similar videos popular on YouTube.
- One police department said that anyone using gel blasters could receive a large fine.
A purported social media trend involving gel-shooting toy guns has led several police departments to warn that using the toys against others could be considered criminal.
Police in Wyoming, California, and Utah have released statements in the last two weeks about people using gel blaster guns, a type of toy that fires out tiny beads, to shoot other pedestrians or property. The most popular gel beads appear to be Orbeez, a product by Spin Master, which does not sell the guns themselves.
The police releases called the craze a “TikTok challenge,” although Insider was unable to verify whether the purported trend grew popular on that platform. There are many popular Orbeez- and bead-gun videos on both YouTube and TikTok dating back several years.
The hashtag #orbeezgun has over 24 million views on TikTok, with multiple videos of people shooting each other with the toy and others showing viewers how to make the gel balls.
People can purchase gel blaster guns for $50 to $100 on Amazon, the Gel Blaster website, and many other websites.
“Spin Master does not manufacture or sell gel guns or any guns that shoot Orbeez,” a spokesperson for Spin Master told Insider. “Orbeez are designed for educational, creative, and sensory play and are not intended to be used as projectiles or inserted in mechanisms such as those cited.”
Although Orbeez is advertised as a kid’s toy, several police departments said that carrying or using so-called “Orbeez guns” would be considered criminal activity. Wyoming’s Laramie Police Department wrote on Facebook that these guns are “capable of inflicting injury” and discharging one “in city limits, for any age” would result in a fine of up to $750.
Police in Tooele, Utah, told KSL.com on February 10 that three bead-shooting incidents occurred at Tooele High School in early February, including one where a projectile was lobbed at a teacher and another where “a girl’s arm was grazed with a pellet,” police said.
The recent news reports and police warnings follow an incident in December when a 14-year-old Florida middle schooler was charged with a felony after he allegedly shot a 12-year-old with a toy blaster from a vehicle while she was walking home from school, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.