Columbus police say an officer fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who pulled what turned out to be a BB gun from his waistband. Police say Tyree King was among three males being pursued after a report of an armed robbery on the city’s Near East Side last night.
Columbus Police Sgt. Rich Weiner said of the gun: "This is very realistic. This is a lot of the products officers are seeing out on the street today, where people can’t get hold of a real gun.”
Police say a person with King was interviewed and released.
Officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery near an American Red Cross building and chased two suspects into an alley.
Lindsey Nelson says one of the rounds fired by police hit her fence.
"There was one kid face down right here. We knew that they were really young, instantly. And the kid that was shot was laying here. And there were three or four officers standing around; that was right when it happened."
King was shot several times and died a short time later at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Police did not immediately release the race of the boy killed. The officer who shot him was Bryan Mason.
