BANGOR – Police received an emergency call around 4:40 p.m. Thursday about two men holding guns in the air around the junction of Garland and Fern streets. When officers arrived, no suspects were found but they traced footsteps in the snow and found two teens with toy guns.

The male teenagers, both around age 16, were playing with toy air or pellet guns, which look just like real weapons, Bangor police Lt. Jeff Millard said.

One of the toy guns looked like a machine gun and the second was a handgun in a holster.

“It looks real, but it’s a plastic replica,” Millard said. “It’s trouble for law enforcement.”

Police were already on heightened alert after they received complaints on Christmas Eve that someone had aimed a gun at passing cars in the same area, he said. Police talked to the parents of the teens, explaining the seriousness of the situation. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)