DEARBORN, Mich. (WWJ) - One adult and one juvenile have been charged in connection to firing Orbeez balls at a crowd of people standing in line outside an ice cream shop in Dearborn on March 17.
Dearborn police said rounds of water-absorbent polymer beads were fired from an Orbeez blaster that struck 30 people standing outside the Custard Co. in downtown Dearborn last week Thursday.
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Police said an anonymous tip was received shortly after Crime Stoppers offered up a $1,000 reward and the two suspects were arrested.
The identity of the juvenile, who is a Dearborn native, has been withheld pending the minor's arraignment in the 19th District Court.
Authorities said this makes six arrests so far of people committing similar acts due to a "dangerous" rising TikTok trend.
The trend, called the "Orbeez Challenge" appears to be popular among the social site's younger users, who film themselves loading Orbeez balls into gel blaster guns and then drive around and shoot people at random.
Police said a young mother and her child were recently targeted with an Orbeez blaster in a similar incident while walking at Ford Field park; the child, who was in a stroller, was struck along with his mother.
Authorities said the beads can be very dangerous and can cause potentially severe injuries if they are fired at sensitive areas of the body.
“Once again we find ourselves dealing with a dangerous trend on social media that has influenced our young people to make dangerous choices that can have lifetime consequences," Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin said.
"I encourage parents to talk to their kids about what they see on social media and to pay attention to the next inevitable dangerous trend that is sure to arise. The Dearborn Police Department will have a zero-tolerance approach to activities such as this that pose danger to the public.”
Anyone with information about the shooting case is asked to call police at 313-943-2240, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP to remain anonymous.
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