Baltimore police on Wednesday shot a 13-year-old boy in possession of a replica firearm, The Baltimore Sun reported. The boy did not suffer life-threatening injuries, according to the report.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said there was “no reason to believe that these officers acted inappropriately in any way,” but said they would investigate the matter, according to the Sun.
Davis said in a press conference that police had taken the boy’s mother into custody and were asking her about the events that unfolded. Davis said the woman was aware her son had the fake gun, according to the Sun.
The shooting happened in East Baltimore, but across town, the Baltimore Sun reported that the city was remembering the riots that sparked a year ago after Freddie Gray died in Baltimore police custody.
The shooting came two days after Cleveland police settled a suit with the family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice for $6 million. Rice was shot and killed by police while playing with a pellet gun.
Did the kid point it at the officers or other people?
Another phrase for “replica firearm” is fake gun, or toy gun. Once again the cops killed someone for having a toy.
Fortunately, he was not killed. The source article states:
But I have to wonder why it was appropriate for the police officer to fire while giving chase. Did he shoot the kid from behind? Was the kid aiming at anyone?
Read the article, the kid didn’t suffer life threatening injuries.
It really depends on what the kid did with the toy gun. The Rice case was inexcusable, there was no reason for the cops in that case to shoot him, same for John Crawford in Ohio. But, if someone points a toy gun at a cop or is threatening others with it, and they can’t tell the difference, they are going to have to react as if it is real. The details will come out and we can determine how justified the shooting is…there is definitely an issue with cops being overly aggressive in their reactions, but let’s not make the same mistake and assume every officer involved shooting is murder.
WTF? Firing at someone running AWAY from you – when that person never fired on them or is even suspected of harming anyone else.