Two kids face battery charges for silly string incident in Cape Coral

Two kids in Cape Coral are facing battery charges after police say they sprayed someone with silly string.

The incident happened on Saturday at an ice cream parlor at The Shops of Surfside in Cape Coral.

Instead of arresting the kids responsible, the officers gave them notices to appear in court.

Cristina Alemar, who works at the plaza, said she saw the kids spraying silly string outside her restaurant and she asked them to leave.

“Going around spraying each other is one thing but to spray other things and other people it’s not right. But I think it’s a little excessive to have to appear to court,” Alemar said.

The victims were minors so their parents were called to the scene. Their parents told authorities they wanted to pursue charges.

“I was just bussing some tables out here and there were two boys and a girl walking down they had silly string. They sprayed the bench so I just let them know like hey guys don’t spray that because I have to clean it up,” Alemar said.

But, still, she couldn’t believe the kids were being charged.

“Even at birthday parties, there’s silly string all the time,” Alemar said. “It’s not that big of a deal, more of a hassle to clean up than anything.”

But, regardless, said Cape Coral police Cpt. Phil Mullen, public information officer, said it’s a battery even if it’s something silly like silly string.

“You shoot something, anything, even something as harmless as Silly String, get it in somebody’s eye cause harm the potential is there so just think about what you’re doing,” Mullen said.