ESSEXVILLE, MI -- A precarious situation involving a teen playing with a spray-painted airsoft gun nearly culminated in tragedy, police say.

About 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 20, Essexville and Bay City public safety officers, Hampton Township police officers, and Bay County Sheriff's deputies responded to the 1600 block of Woodside Avenue after receiving a report of a person dressed in tactical attire, carrying an apparent assault rifle.

Police soon found the subject holding the weapon, dressed in full camouflage and wearing a helmet and mock bulletproof vest. An officer drew his firearm and ordered the subject to drop his gun, a command the subject complied with.

The subject was identified as a local 14-year-old boy and was taken into custody. Police contacted the boy's mother, who went to the Essexville Department of Public Safety headquarters.

After the teen was questioned, he was released to his mother, said Lt. Nate House. Officers do not believe the teen had any criminal intent and that he was merely "playing Army," House said.

The teen's seeming assault rifle ended up being an airsoft rifle painted black to look realistic. Police confiscated the item and posted a photo of it, alongside a genuine assault rifle, on the department's Facebook page.

"This incident could have had a very tragic ending had the young man not dropped the rifle at the request of the officer," the Facebook post states. "We need to make sure to instruct our children not to tamper, enhance or disguise these types of toys because they want them to look realistic."