CHICAGO (AFP) -
An officer responding to reports of a robbery shot and killed a 13-year-old boy in Columbus, Ohio after he drew what turned out to be a BB gun, a type of air gun that shoots pellets, police said.
The Columbus police department said it was investigating the death Wednesday night of Tyree King, the latest in a string of officer involved shootings that have fueled protests and national debate about policing tactics in US cities.
King was pronounced dead at Nationwide Children's Hospital after being shot multiple times during the confrontation in an alley, a police statement said.
Officers were dispatched after a report of an armed robbery involving multiple suspects who allegedly approached the victim, one of them brandishing a gun and demanding money, the statement said.
They spotted three males who fit the suspects' description, but two of them fled as the officers approached them, it said.
The officers followed the two to an alleyway "and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband," it said.
"One of the officers shot and struck the suspect multiple times," the statement said. The other suspect was not injured.
"Crime Search Unit detectives processed the shooting scene and collected what appeared to be a handgun. Upon further inspection, it was determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser site," the police said.
Police said they were searching for additional suspects.
© 2016 AFP
