ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — St. Pete Police are investigating after several people reported being shot by water beads or gel bullets in downtown.
Last weekend, officers took at least six reports of people being hit on Saturday and Sunday.
Mike Schuman said he was with some friends when he was hit on Central Avenue last weekend.
A water bead hit him directly in his right eye.
"I got hit several times in the body and then directly in my right eye," Schuman said.
"It broke a bunch of blood vessels and there’s blood inside my iris. I have a blood clot in there," he added.
Schuman said his eye must stay dilated and his vision is still blurry. He hopes to recover.
"I was shocked. I didn’t really know what had happened or what had hit me, you know. I looked all over the ground, couldn’t see what it was and it wasn’t until one of my friends said oh this is one of those gel blasters and we found a little piece of the gel so when they hit they exploded, but they’re coming out at high velocity," said Schuman.
St. Pete Police said detectives are following up on a tip that the people responsible may be driving a black Nissan Altima. No arrests have been made.
Law enforcement across the country including the Orange County Sheriff's Office is warning people not to participate in the TikTok trend known as the "Orbeez Challenge."
"Not only can the projectiles cause serious injuries, opening firing on someone puts your life at risk. It would only take a moment of panic for someone to fire back with real bullets," the Orange County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook.
The challenge encourages people to use gel blasters or gel ball guns to shoot innocent victims. Some have started freezing the beads to intensify their effects.
"Because this type of gun can be easily mistaken for an actual firearm, it may cause panic among people and lead to serious injury or death," said the Southbridge Police Department in Massachusetts on a Facebook post.
Law enforcement warn it is not a prank, it is a crime.
"You might have thought you were having fun, but like you kind of ruined my life for a little while. You could have damaged my eye permanently you know. I'm still not fully healed. I got blood clot still in my eye. I'm waiting to see how my vision is going to turn out," said Schuman.
