The San Marino Police Dept. confirmed a report of a stun gun assault that took place at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
The incident began when a male juvenile received a text from an acquaintance asking him to come to the lunch court at Huntington Middle School while Little League baseball and softball games were taking place.
The victim was told by the boy who sent the text that he had “a cool video” he wanted the victim to view. When the victim leaned in among a group of other boys to look at what he believed to be the video, he was struck with a commercially available stun gun that is disguised to resemble a common cellphone.
The victim reportedly heard the sound of the weapon before he was struck and was able to jump away from the attack. The victim suffered a small burn on his abdomen, but was able to outrun his attacker.
A source told The Tribune that the other boys were laughing as the victim was chased off the premises.
A Little League coach witnessed the commotion surrounding the assault and confiscated the device, but not without a protest.
The device used to carry out the attack has been confirmed by San Marino Police Chief John Incontro to be an iStun4000 that is advertised as a rechargeable, disguised smart phone stun gun and is available over-the-counter for $39.95. It was reported by a second source that the device was purchased at a local mall. The device is built to resemble a cellphone, but is markedly larger in depth. The SMPD is holding the device as evidence in the case.
“The next time an attacker demands your smart phone, give them a surprise that will truly daze them – give them the iStun,” says a marketing piece for the device, which is capable of emitting a 4,000,000-volt shock according to the literature.
The second source mentioned that kids perceive the devices to be harmless and refer to them as “buzzers.”
Incontro told The Tribune that he is aware of the situation but cannot comment on a matter that is under investigation.
San Marino Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss told The Tribune he is unable to comment on matters of student discipline. Cherniss did say that stun guns and other similar devices are expressly banned from all district campuses, facilities and events.
