Airsoft competition raising concerns in Graniteville
Jun. 26—An airsoft competition has created a stir in in Graniteville this weekend.
The Aiken County Sheriff's Office posted on its Facebook page Saturday that "an extreme influx of (911 phone) calls" about the event had been received, but that people shouldn't be alarmed.
"We've looked into it, and everything is fine," Capt. Eric Abdullah of the Sheriff's Office told the Aiken Standard.
The Facebook post thanked callers "for being observant in your community and staying alert."
Participants in the Graniteville airsoft competition, which is known as Operation Firestorm 3, are dressed in military-style clothing.
Their guns look like real weapons, but they are loaded with plastic pellets instead of bullets.
Best of USA Marketing, which is based in California, is the organizer of Operation Firestorm 3.
"Around 220" people are at the event, said Best of USA Marketing President John Lu.
"It's kind of like an old paintball competition, but without the paint," he added.
Many of the participants arrived Friday, and the battles began Saturday in Graniteville's Marshall Street area.
Operation Firestorm 3 is scheduled to end Sunday at noon.
Lu said Best of USA Marketing conducts similar events "nationwide" and has been doing so for many years.
The company held an airsoft competition previously in Graniteville in 2014, he told the Aiken Standard.
Aiken County Administrator Clay Killian and County Council member Phil Napier, whose district includes Graniteville, said they also had received phone calls about Firestorm 3.
"It's horrible," one upset Graniteville resident told the Aiken Standard. "It's like being in a war zone."
