‘Splat’ gun popular on Tik Tok goes off at Illing Middle School in Manchester

MANCHESTER, Conn. (WFSB) - School officials say a student shot a classmate with a splat water gun inside a Manchester middle school.

School officials say two students are now facing consequences after bringing a splat gun to school earlier this week.

A splat or splatter gun is a plastic toy that shoots out water or gel-based beads.

Pollice say these projectiles come out at high speeds and are capable of causing severe injuries.

School leaders say a bead hit a student and the incident created a great deal of alarm. The student’s condition is not known.

A similar incident happened back in September when a group of teens shot over 300 of these beads towards a crowd of thousands in East Haven. These suspects were charged with assault and reckless endangerment among many other charges.

“One of the most concerning things is that they clearly do not have the judgement or foresight to see how their behavior impacts not just themselves, but other people around them,” says clinical phycologist Dr. Laura Saunders.

Dr. Saunders says parents must work together to keep up with social media trends, especially with dangerous online influences that produce more anxiety in the school community.

“The more supervision and support you provide, there is less of a chance, not no chance, but less chance of these incidents happening,” says Saunders.

It is not clear whether these two students will be facing charges, but the incident is under investigation by police.

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