Mary Morrissey Parden’s Belmont property, situated on about 1.5 acres of land, is getting remodeled, and she has started noticing unexpected trespassers after watching her security cameras — groups of teenagers pulling up to the site and staying for about an hour.
So far, she hasn’t noticed any vandalism or property destruction, and groups don’t enter the house, which is under construction. But the frequent visits are unnerving, given they are now coming back several evenings each week, and the groups tend to vary each time, she said.
“We catch them up on the street, but we can’t see what they do on our property because they wear night goggles and dress in black,” Parden said. “We don’t have any lighting because it’s a construction site. They flash their light, so the details are obscured. They know there’s a camera but they know what to do to deal with it.”
The groups use Orbeez guns, which are toy guns that shoot dissolvable gel beads. Parden said it looks like they are playing a particular game, given they are only present on the site for an hour, but she’s unclear how it works — other than the fact it involves finding open spaces at night.
Belmont police Sgt. Peter Lotti said law enforcement is aware of the Orbeez trend, which has proliferated via social media, but the department hasn’t received a significant number of calls about similar instances in the city. However, the police department and schools have sent out warnings and notices to parents to be on guard about the use of the Orbeez guns and related social media trends.
“If kids want to do it in a safe place or virtual reality-type place, that’s OK … but when it’s open space or someone’s property, it can be a concern,” Lotti said. “Some of these guns can look like real guns.”
The police still haven’t found any activity since they started doing routine pass-throughs at Parden’s property, he said.
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