TWO CHARGED AFTER FAKE GUNS DISPLAYED NEAR NATIONAL NIGHT OUT EVENT

EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — Two local residents were arrested Tuesday night after police say imitation firearms were brandished near families attending the township’s National Night Out event. As the crowd was dispersing, a witness alerted police to a gray Ford Mustang where someone inside had pointed a gun. A second witness reported seeing a firearm aimed directly at a group of people. Officers from the department’s motorcycle unit maneuvered through traffic and stopped the vehicle near the Swift-Slaybaugh school complex. Inside the car were 21-year-old Benjamin Andrews and 18-year-old Maya McKinley, both from Egg Harbor Township. Police spotted a small black handgun near the driver’s side door and recovered a second weapon from the passenger-side floor. Investigators later determined the weapons were not real. One was a gun-shaped lighter fitted with a laser, and the other was an airsoft-style replica. Officers noted both could easily be mistaken for actual firearms, especially in a public setting. Andrews and McKinley were charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of weapons, and possession of imitation firearms.