Bus driver threatened

The equation of three juveniles, two toy guns and one threatened shuttle driver added up to… The equation of three juveniles, two toy guns and one threatened shuttle driver added up to a problem for Pitt police on Friday night.

At approximately 9:21 p.m., a Pitt shuttle was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Boulevard of the Allies and Ward Street when three juveniles approached the vehicle and pointed guns at the driver, according to Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney. The driver, not knowing at the time if the guns were real, called the police.

“I imagine that the driver was pretty scared,” Delaney said.

After receiving the call, the police sent three officers out to look for the people responsible for the incident, according to Delaney. Delaney added that with the three people ranging from 5-feet-3-inches to 6 feet, police did not know at the time whether they were looking for adults with real guns or something less harmful.

“The dangerous part was that they’re interacting with the police. It could have been very serious,” Delaney said.

After searching the Oakland area, police located the three juveniles at Cable Place and Semple Street at 9:41 p.m., according to Delaney. He said they were under custody and positively identified by 9:47 p.m. The juveniles were 12, 14 and 15 years old.

According to Delaney, after searching the juveniles, Pitt police recovered a BB gun and a cap pistol, both only toys and incapable of firing.

“[The juveniles] just looked at it as a prank,” he said.

According Delaney, the juveniles were charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, reckless endangerment of another person, facsimile of a firearm and conspiracy. They were then turned over to their parents. Delaney added that their case will be reviewed in juvenile court, which means they will look at both the history of the juveniles and their surrounding issues, as well as the actual crime.

“They adjudicate the child rather than the incident. It puts them in the system so someone will start monitoring them,” he said.