13-Year-Old Ohio Boy Shot Dead By Police After Pulling Out BB Gun


A 13-year-old boy from Ohio has been shot and killed by the Columbus police after he pulled out a BB gun from his waistband as the officers were trying to put him under arrest.

Investigators identified the boy as Tyree King, who was shot numerous times after the police chased him into an alley following an armed robbery call in east Columbus around 7:42 p.m. ET, the USA Today reports.

According to the person who made the call to the police, he was approached by a group who threatened him with a gun while demanding money.

When the police arrived at the scene, they saw three young men matching the caller’s description in front of 33 Hoffman Street. They reportedly tried to talk to them, but two of the men fled on foot. The officers chased them into an alley.

After catching up with the suspects, the cops tried to put them under arrest. Tyree, however, pulled out a gun from his waistband. One of the officers responded by shooting at the boy multiple times.

The 13-year-old boy was then taken to Children’s hospital and was pronounced dead around 8:30 pm.

The officers later identified the young man as Tyree King.

Investigators from the Crime Scene Search Unit later identified the boy’s gun as a BB gun with an attached laser scope.

Chris Naderer, a neighbor who lives near the site of the scene, said that he saw the robbers running away from the police officers, as reported by NBC41.

“We heard some people running through our backyard and kind of a loud boom where our gate is busted,” he says. “We assume that they busted the gate down.”

Naderer added that he saw an officer chasing the suspects into a nearby alley when he looked out the window to see what was happening.

“Heard gun shots 5, 10 seconds afterwards,” he says.

No officers were injured in the incident. The police are continuing their investigation early Thursday.

One of the suspects has been interviewed and released pending further investigation.

The officer who gunned down Tyree is a nine-year veteran of the force who got recently transferred to the zone where Wednesday night’s shooting took place. As per Columbus Division of Police protocol, the officers involved will receive “mandated psychological counseling” and will be granted the opportunity to take leave time to give them the opportunity to recover from the traumatic experience.

The police said they are still looking for additional suspects involved with the armed robbery.

Wednesday night’s shooting incident comes nearly two years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio in November 2014.

Rice, a black sixth-grade student, was playing with a pellet gun near a gazebo when he was shot and killed by a police officer. The officer reportedly shot him within two seconds of arriving at the scene.

Tamir Rice’s death sparked Black Lives Matter protests calling out for the resignation of the officer who shot the boy. Last December, a grand jury ruled not to indict the officers involved in the shooting. In April, the city of Cleveland agreed to pay $6 million settlement on the civil rights lawsuit issued by the Rice family, as reported by NY Times.

Protestors rally outside Republican National Convention in Cleveland. [Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]
Protestors rally outside Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
[Image by Spencer Platt/Getty Images]

“In a situation like this, there’s no such thing as closure or justice,” lawyers Jonathan S. Abady and Earl S. Ward said in a statement. “Nothing will bring Tamir back. His unnecessary and premature death leaves a gaping hole for those who knew and loved him that can never be filled.”

Cleveland’s Mayor Frank G. Jackson said that the case was “not easy for me personally or the city in general,” but explained that the settlement “protected the rights of the city and its taxpayers.”

“At the end of the day, a 12-year-old child lost their life, and that should not have happened in the city of Cleveland,” he said. “It should not have happened.”

[Featured Image by Mat Hayward/Getty Images]

Share this article: 13-Year-Old Ohio Boy Shot Dead By Police After Pulling Out BB Gun
More from Inquisitr