A North Bend man who displayed an air gun at another driver during a road-rage incident Wednesday was arrested for brandishing a weapon and booked into King County Jail.

Anthony J. Baldino, 47, was released later in the day, on $1,000 bail.

The incident began around 11 a.m. Wednesday, Washington State Patrol officer Chris Webb reported, when Baldino, driving a 1993 Dodge van, became involved in a dispute with another vehicle as they were traveling westbound in Interstate 90 near Issaquah. The other vehicle contained three people, all in their 20s, who, after seeing Baldino display a realistic looking gun, called police.

“They were the ones who the subject displayed the weapon to,” Webb said.

The weapon appeared to be a black handgun, but was actually an Airsoft replica of a Smith and Wesson pistol.

“They’re nothing like a real firearm,” Webb said, of the air gun. “When a round comes out of that gun, it may leave a mark a bruise, but it won’t penetrate the skin.”

Troopers stopped Baldino’s vehicle near Bellevue Way and arrested him on a gross misdemeanor charge.

“They weren’t able to arrest him for possession of a firearm, because it wasn’t really a firearm,” Webb said.

He also faced a lesser charge, Webb said, because Baldino did not point the weapon at the other driver during the incident.

Airsoft guns are typically very realistic and so, favored by police officers for training exercises.