*A police officer in Columbus, Ohio, shot and killed a 13-year-old boy he was attempting to apprehend following reports of an armed robbery, officials said.
The Columbus Division of Police said in a statement that the teen, identified as Tyree King, “pulled a gun from his waistband” when officers tried to take him and another male into custody Wednesday night. But after the shooting, police said investigators recovered a BB gun with an attached laser sight from the scene.
According to NBC News, police were called over a group of people — including one armed with a gun — demanding money at 7:42 p.m. ET.  Responding officers saw three people matching the suspects’ descriptions around a block away. When they attempted to speak with them, two of the males ran away, police said.
“Officers followed the males to the alley … and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband,” police stated. “One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times.”
King was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m.
No one else was injured. The other male suspect was interviewed and later released pending further inquiries.
Area resident Chris Naderer told The Columbus Dispatch he heard a gate in his backyard get knocked down and then saw police chasing two young men in an alley outside of his home. Then he heard two or three gunshots.
The officer who fired the shots is a nine-year veteran of the force who just recently transferred to the zone where the incident happened, according to NBC station WCMH. He has not been named.
As with all police-involved shootings, the officers will receive “mandated psychological support counseling” and be given the opportunity to “take leave time to assist in recovery from a traumatic experience,” according to the Columbus Division of Police.
Below, a segment about the shooting on NBC’s “Today”:
The incident comes almost two years after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot dead by a police officer in Cleveland, Ohio. The black sixth-grader was holding a pellet gun when the officer shot him within two seconds of arriving at the scene.
His death sparked protests over policing and racial bias. Last December, a grand jury chose not to indict the two officers involved. In April, the city of Cleveland agreed to pay $6 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought by the Rice family.
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