Cuyahoga County bans lookalike guns for some youths

CLEVELAND (AP) — The county juvenile court in Cleveland says youth under its supervision will be banned from having air rifles and other lookalikes that could be perceived as real.

Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court says the policy announced jointly with the prosecutor takes effect Friday.

The statement says juveniles engaged in violence have used fake weapons in an attempt to avoid consequences of illegally having real firearms. The new policy is meant to deter that and help avoid violent encounters between those juveniles and others, including police.

Prosecutor Timothy McGinty says lawmakers should ban sales of replica guns.

The availability of such weapons drew increased attention in Ohio after two deadly shootings by police. In one, 12-year-old Tamir Rice had a pellet gun outside a Cleveland recreation center when he was shot.