Olney teen charged in Orbeez shooting; Birbeck warns copycats

An Olney teen was criminally charged May 14 for participating in the Orbeez Challenge, a social media-driven activity that Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck warned could get copycats in a lot of trouble.

The new trend challenges people to do drive-by-like assaults on unsuspecting people using AirSoft or toy guns that shoot the water-based Orbeez pellets and post videos of the shootings on the social media platform TikTok, Birbeck said.

The 15-year-old boy and three friends were riding around in a pickup truck when they spotted two younger children sitting on a curb eating Cheetos and playing with their cell phones, Birbeck said. The suspect shot the boy and girl, ages 11 and 12, multiple times in their upper torsos with soft gel Orbeez balls and drove away, he said.

The victims said they suffered welts to their arms and upper bodies. One of the children’s fathers called police, who apprehended the suspect when he and his friends returned to the scene, allegedly to apologize, Birbeck said. Officers arrested the teen on a misdemeanor assault charge after discovering the airsoft gun and Orbeez pellets under the truck’s seat, Birbeck said. He was later released to his parents, and his case has been referred to the Young County Attorney’s Office for prosecution, as will all similar cases, Birbeck said.

“My concern is hitting someone in the eye and causing permanent damage,” Birbeck said. Most victims don’t know that they’re being targeted, and they’re not wearing eye protection. It is an assault if the person being shot is not a willing participant.”

The charges for an Orbeez assault could escalate to a felony, depending on the seriousness of the victim’s injuries, the chief said. And the challenge could have fatal results if a person targeted by an Orbeez-wielding shooter returns fire with a real gun, Birbeck said.

Birbeck stressed that it is not illegal to engage in Orbeez battles as long as everyone who is shot at is a willing participant.

The Orbeez Challenge has led to dozens of arrests across the country, as well as a school lockdown and the arrests of five students in Rockwall, Texas, according to news reports.