Police: Three teens accused of shooting Sebastopol pedestrians with pellet guns

Three teenagers are waiting to find out if they’ll be charged with a crime after police say they drove around downtown Sebastopol Saturday, shooting random pedestrians with “gel blasters.”

Sebastopol police began receiving calls shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday about a silver Toyota Prius whose occupants were seen shooting a BB gun at people on the streets, Sebastopol Interim Police Chief Ron Nelson said.

Responding police officers found the car, which contained the three teens, about 40 minutes after the first calls reporting the incidents were received.

Nelson said when the teenagers were pulled over, they had gel blasters, or plastic guns similar to paintball guns. The "blasters,“ he added, were loaded with prehydrated “gellets” that measured between 6-8 mm — about a ¼ inch — in diameter.

Nelson said gel blasters are typically used for activities, such as paintball. Their gellets are supposed to inflict less pain than a regular paintball, which measures between ⅔ inch and about a ½ inch in diameter.

It is unknown how many pedestrians were shot at or struck by the teenagers. When asked, Nelson said, one of the teenagers responded, “Too many.”

The case report of the incident has been transferred to Sonoma County Juvenile Probation, Nelson said, where officials will decide whether to send the teens through a Restorative Justice program or have them charged and then tried in juvenile court.

Restorative Justice is a counseling program, which requires the teens to acknowledge the consequences of their actions and the impact those actions had on the victims.

Nelson said the teens were released to their parents, who were issued citations.

Sara Edwards is the business reporter for The Press Democrat. You can reach her at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat.com. Follow her on Twitter @sedwards380.