Paintball guns are designed for fun, but police say some people are using them for the wrong reasons.
Columbus Police have taken at least nine reports since May 26 of paintball guns being used to either injure people or destroy property.
One report included a man being blinded after a paintball hit him in the eye.
The latest incident involved a woman being struck in the arm while riding on the back of a scooter.
Jennifer Ewing said she was riding down Summit Street near E. 7th Avenue when she saw something frightening.
"I look over and I see about eight guys standing and pointing a gun at me,” she said.
Ewing says the paintball gun resembled a real firearm. She's glad it wasn't.
"When one is pointed at you, it looks real,” she said.
Ewing was injured just one week after police say 20-year-old Thomas Woodruff fired a paintball gun in southeast Columbus, striking a man in the eye.
That man lost his vision and Woodruff was charged with felonious assault.
Police tell 10TV the suspects in the paintball incidents across the city are primarily teenagers.
They want parents to tell their kids that there can be serious consequences for firing a paintball gun in public.
"Some people think it could be harmless fun when in reality it could be a disaster or it could be life changing for somebody that is the victim,” Sgt. Rich Weiner said." If (paintball guns) are used in a manner to intentionally inflict pain and suffering on somebody, you will be charged."
Paintball experts say it is important to remember that paintball guns are not toys.
"Just like anything else, you're always going to have people misusing no matter what you have,” Tommy Zellers with Paintball Ohio said.
Paintball Ohio operates Splatter Park in Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Zellers said staff members make sure everyone there is wearing protective gear and acting responsibly with the paintball guns.
"Our referees and staff out there are making sure everybody is keeping their masks on, you have your barrel covers on and everybody is having a good time and playing safe,” he said.
Zellers said a paintball can leave a gun at speeds approaching 200 miles per hour.
"It's common sense. Use them where you're supposed to be,” he said. “Don't misuse them.”
It is advice Ewing wishes whoever shot her would have followed.
"I feel lucky they hit me (in the arm). It could have been (in the face). We could have wrecked our bike. We could have got hit by a car,” she said.