SHOCKING: Boy Carrying Toy Gun Killed By Police
A 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle has been shot dead by police in the US state of California, the BBC reports.
Officers in the city of Santa Rosa say they opened fire after the boy
refused orders to drop the rifle, which they believed to be real.
The shooting on Tuesday is now being investigated.
It comes a day after a 12-year-old boy in Nevada shot dead a maths
teacher at his school and wounded two fellow pupils before taking his
own life.
In the latest incident, two sheriff’s deputies saw
the teenager “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”, a news
release from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office said.
The
deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the
gun before firing several rounds from their handguns, police said.
The boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was later identified by his family as Andy Lopez.
“He was holding the weapon in his left hand. He began to turn toward
his right in the direction of the deputy, and in so doing he moved the
gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful
he would be shot,” Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa police said.
But
the boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez said the shooting made no sense. “My
son lost his life. He’s not alive any more just because of the mistake
of somebody.”
The replica gun had belonged to a friend, he said.
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