A Draper girl was injured after being shot in the eye on Halloween night by a gel blaster-type gun, allegedly fired by two juveniles riding in a go-kart near Willow Springs Elementary. Police say the shooting happened at around 8:25 p.m., and investigators are now asking the public for help tracking down the two kids responsible.
According to fox13now.com, the Draper Police Department released a photo of the two juveniles in the go-kart in hopes that someone could identify them. Police acknowledged the image quality was poor, but said the go-kart appeared to be styled after Mario Kart. As reported by ABC4 Utah, investigators are asking anyone who recognizes the go-kart or the juveniles to call them at (801)-576-6576.
What a Gel Blaster Actually Does
The weapon involved in the Halloween incident was described as a gel blaster-type gun. Per the same report, a gel blaster fires small, water-absorbent polymer beads, often called gel balls, that burst on impact. The toys are frequently marketed as lower-risk alternatives to traditional pellet or BB guns, but the Halloween shooting left a juvenile female with an eye injury serious enough to draw a police investigation and public appeal for tips.
Draper police have dealt with gel-gun incidents before. In an earlier case detailed by kjzz.com, officers said they had six reported incidents and suspected there were more that went unreported, after a woman walking her dog said she believed children were shooting at her with a pellet gun. That investigation led to six youths being referred to court. The outlet also reported that kids in the Draper Peaks parking lot were found shooting gel balls at random people on March 4, prompting two bystanders to confront them.
A Pattern Tied to a Viral Trend
Those past incidents were linked by police to a TikTok trend known as the Orbeez Challenge, which kjzz.com reported had fueled a cluster of gel-gun confrontations over a two-week span. A 2022 report from ksl.com described the same challenge circulating years earlier, including an incident in which two boys walked into Oak Wood Fire Kitchen and began shooting customers at random with toy guns loaded with hard-gel pellets. Draper police that year said they were investigating multiple similar shootings around town, including at Draper Peaks and Orson Smith Park.
Whether the Halloween shooting is connected to that same viral trend has not been established, but the history underscores why Draper police are treating the case seriously. For now, investigators are relying on the public to help put a name to the two juveniles seen in the grainy photo, riding what looked like a Mario Kart-themed go-kart through a residential neighborhood on one of the busiest nights of the year for kids outdoors.
