Springfield, Missouri – According to Consumer Product Safety Commission data, air rifles kill four people on average each year. While this may not seem like much, experts warn that air guns should be treated the same as regular firearms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that approximately 3.4 million air rifles and BB guns are sold each year in the United States. Every year, approximately 30,000 people are admitted to the hospital as a result of these injuries.
“They do have the potential to be lethal,” said Cherokee Firearms’ owner, Nick Newman. “Of course, there are different levels. We still have Red Rider BB guns, and they are still dangerous.
In addition to regular firearms, Newman said his store sells some air rifles. Many of them use compressed air to fire the projectile, resulting in a higher velocity and FPS rating.
“They’ve been developed over time now, and there are actually regulations and rules in place in most states, including Missouri, on what you can use and what’s large enough to actually hunt deer with,” Newman told me. “People typically in this area, I mean the most common thing we sell them for today is for pest control or target shooting, things like that.”
Thomas Coy, 64, of Lawrence County, is charged with first-degree murder after allegedly shooting Jasmine Taylor, 23. Investigators say Coy fatally shot Taylor in the head with a pellet gun while she was driving her Amazon route.
“The P.C. was filed with the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s office and alleging that Mister Coy observed the truck going down his road,” said Lt. Chris Berry of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office. He then returned to his home, got his air rifle, and went back up to wait for the Amazon driver to return. Then he shot them.
According to Berry, Coy has a long criminal history and numerous convictions, but none of them were violent. As a result of his felony conviction, he is not legally permitted to own a firearm. But, according to Newman, air guns are not the same.
“In order to be an a firearm with the ATF, it has to discharge a projectile, using something other than, air rifles use compressed air,” according to Newman. “It needs to be an explosion, which is done with gunpowder.”
And, while air rifles are not considered guns in the same way, Newman believes they should be considered dangerous.
“When you see them on our wall at the store, they’re treated just the same here as any other firearm,” Newman told me. “And they demand the same respect and the same amount of responsibility as anything.”
