Earlier this month, Belmont County sheriff’s deputies were called upon to perform a rather unusual duty — Sheriff David Lucas directed them to visit the Belmont County Fairgrounds to confiscate toy guns.

These weren’t just any toy guns, though. These water pistols, which were being sold by a couple of different vendors, were extremely realistic looking imitations of Glock handguns.

Not only were the water pistols great copies of the real thing, but they lacked one crucial detail designed to keep kids safe. These fake guns did not have the orange or red tip that is required by U.S. Code Title 15 Section 5001, which states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, enter into commerce, ship, transport, or receive any toy, look-alike, or imitation firearm unless such firearm contains, or has affixed to it, a marking approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission …”

With all of the threats to local schools that were received last week — and with the tense social and political climate we are experiencing in general — imagine what a tragic situation could have occurred if a student had shown up at school with one of these toy guns that appeared to be the real thing.

Fortunately, a local parent did the right thing. After picking their child up from the fair, they noticed how realistic the water pistols looked and decided that appearance could be dangerous. As a result, they contacted the sheriff’s department and Lucas took control of the situation from there.

“I had the road sergeant go out to the fair and meet with the fair president, Ed Campbell, and what I told my sergeant was, ‘You go to that vendor and confiscate all of the squirt guns because they are illegal squirt guns,'” Lucas told reporters.

Lucas said his office would not pursue charges against the vendors, but he will forward photographs and his reports to U.S. Customs and Border Protection because the toy guns were made in China.

Parents and law enforcement cannot be too vigilant when it comes to protecting our children.