After Orlando Police Chief John Mina said the weapon a man was holding when he was shot and killed by police was an air soft gun, experts are weighing in on how realistic the guns can look.
Charles Powers said that he's trained thousands of concealed weapon permit holders, including members of law enforcement. He said that even he can't tell the difference between a real fire arm and an air soft gun from five feet away.
"If you showed up at night at my house with one of these guns and beat on the door and you weren't law enforcement, you are taking a risk of probably being shot," said Powers.
Orlando Police said when officers approached Eric Provost, 28, outside his home at the Courtney Landing Condos on Monday night, they believed his weapon to be real. It turns out that he was holding an air soft gun. Provost later died at the hospital.
In the past, orange tips have been used to symbolize a fake gun. Powers said that criminals often paint the tips of real guns orange, just to throw-off police.
"Now a cop sees that orange tip on the end of a real gun and he's contemplating his career. Do I shoot that individual or do I not? While he's contemplating that, that kid is pumping 9mm rounds into his chest," said Powers.
Powers also said that the public has been demanding more realistic looking guns from air soft manufactures. He said that the fake guns of today are almost exact replicas of every major fire arm currently produced.
"If it looks like a gun and it's pointed at you like a gun, it's is a gun weather it has an orange top on it or not," said Powers.
Scott King over at Miller's Hardware in Winter Park said that anyone who buys BB guns from their store needs to understand that the weapon might get confused for a real fire arm.
"Any of these from a distance looks real. No body knows the difference from a distance," said King.
Orlando police said that neither officer involved in the shooting were wearing body cams, and wouldn't immediately say what type of air soft gun Provost was holding when he was shot.