Hmmm...I've carried BB guns before, and never been killed.
Is it possible there were other factors involved?
In my childhood days (the 1940s) cap guns were ubiquitous. They were “brandished” freely. No red tips either. I can’t recall any kid shot because he was seen with one. Of course those were very different times and citizens would not call police if they saw a kid (invariably a boy) “brandishing” a cap gun.