Nearly two years after the tragic shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, killed after Cleveland officers mistook his toy gun for a firearm, police have shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after he allegedly drew a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun in Columbus, Ohio.
It was Wednesday night [September 14, 2016] that officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery.
Arriving on the scene, officers were told by the victim of the crime that a group of multilevel suspects approached and demanded money. According to the victim, one of them had a gun.
According to law enforcement, the officers then encountered three males matching the descriptions of the suspects and attempted to speak with them.
Two of the suspects fled on foot.
“Officers followed the males to the alley…and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband,” police said in a statement released early Thursday. “One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times.”
The suspect shot was a 13-year-old Tyree King who was carrying what was later determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser sight.
King was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m.
The other teen who was with King was interviewed and released following the incident.
An investigation is now pending in the circumstances surrounding King’s death.
