Police officers in Cleveland shot a boy, 12, wielding what turned out to be a replica gun after receiving a 911 call saying a "juvenile" was scaring people with a gun that probably was fake.(Photo: Mark Duncan, AP)
Police officers in Cleveland fatally shot a 12-year-old boy wielding what turned out to be a replica gun after receiving a 911 call saying a "juvenile" was scaring people with a gun that probably was fake.
The boy was shot in the torso after officers responded to reports of a male waving a gun in the playground area of the Cudell Recreation Center about 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the Cleveland Division of Police said in a statement.
Officers arrived at the scene and told the boy to raise his hands. He did not comply, instead reaching to his waistband for the gun, and was shot, the statement said.
He was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center. The boy was rushed into surgery, but died Sunday,
WKYC reported.
Police released the 911 call from a man who said he was across the street from the park.
"There is a guy with a pistol, it's probably fake, but he's pointing it at everyone," the caller says. The caller later repeats that the gun is probably fake, and adds that "he's probably a juvenile."
The gun was found to be an "airsoft"-type replica gun, a BB-gun type gun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol. The orange safety indicator was removed.
Deputy Chief of Field Operations Ed Tomba told
Cleveland.com that the incident was "very, very tragic."
"We don't come to work every day and want to use force on anybody," he said. "That's not what our job is. We're part of this community."
He said the boy did not threaten the officer verbally or physically, Cleveland.com said.
The police force and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office are investigating.
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