Ferndale police: Girl, 14, arrested for allegedly stealing basketball had toy gun hidden under shirt

FERNDALE, Mich. – When a 14-year-old girl was arrested Tuesday evening for allegedly stealing a basketball out of a car in Ferndale, police said they also found a toy gun concealed under her clothes.

Police said a resident called them after seeing the girl and three other children, between the ages 12 to 14, "acting suspiciously" and opening car doors on Dover Street.

Lt. William Wilson said police found the toy gun under the 14-year-old's shirt. It doesn't look much different than his department uses.

"They look very similar. It would cause for concern if anybody had that pointed at them," Wilson said.

Police said the girl never told them why she had the toy gun or what she was planning to do with it.

"Who knows? You can only make suppositions about what they might have been trying to use it for. Something like this can be used to feign a robbery and commit some other type of crime," Wilson said.

He also said the group is not believed to be involved in a rash of car break-ins that happened over the weekend. For the stolen basketball, the girl could face larceny charges in juvenile court.