I know pepper spray is illegal, but HOW illegal is it?

Hi all,

I’ve lived in Brooklyn for the past 7 years, and last night while me and a friend were walking to the train station, we got mugged.

Two kids jumped out from behind a parked car, pointed a gun at us, and told us to give them everything.

While one of them was pointing the gun at my friend, i saw he was holding a squirt gun. The corner was super dark but there was a streetlight behind him, and I could literally see through the plastic gun and within a second I could confirm it was fake.

This definitely was NOT the smart thing to do, but I screamed at them the gun was fake, and to get the fuck out, and screamed help at the top of my lungs. They bolted off but only got my friend’s phone.

(Btw DON’T EVER DO THIS. If anyone is mugging you just give them whatever you have, even knowing the gun was fake they could have had another weapon or just decided to beat the shit out of us. I was very stupid and got incredibly lucky that they were scared and ran away)

We obviously called 911, reported it, and the NYPD are working on it.

So my question is, if I had had pepper spray, sprayed the shit out of them (or kicked them in the nuts, etc.) and the police caught them, would I get in trouble because their weapon was fake? Or maybe there was no weapon found? In that case there would be no evidence they robbed us except for our story, and they would be the ones who got injured.

I know that if you’re caught carrying pepper spray you get a $75 fine (or something similar) but if you use it in a situation like that, I imagine I would be the one with an assault on my record.

Everyone stay safe out there! The police said these robberies are super common, especially in the area we were in.

Thanks.