13-Year-Old Boy Carrying Toy Gun Killed By Police

A 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle
has been shot dead by police in the US state of
California, the BBC reports.Officers in the city of
Santa Rosa say they opened fire after the boy
refused orders to drop the rifle, which they believed
to be real. The shooting on Tuesday is now being
investigated. It comes a day after a 12-year-old
boy in Nevada shot dead a maths teacher at his
school and wounded two fellow pupils before
taking his own life.
In the latest incident, two sheriff’s deputies saw the
teenager “with what appeared to be some type of
rifle”, a news release from the Sonoma County
Sheriff’s office said.The deputies called for backup
and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the gun
before firing several rounds from their handguns,
police said.
The boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene,
was later identified by his family as Andy Lopez.
“He was holding the weapon in his left hand. He
began to turn toward his right in the direction of the
deputy, and in so doing he moved the gun toward
the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he
was fearful he would be shot,” Lt Paul Henry of
Santa Rosa police said.
But the boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez said the
shooting made no sense. “My son lost his life. He’s
not alive any more just because of the mistake of
somebody.” The replica gun had belonged to a
friend, he said.
The sheriff’s office said a plastic handgun had also
been found in the boy’s waistband.