{"id":11518,"date":"2016-09-16T05:21:28","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T05:21:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=11518"},"modified":"2016-09-16T05:22:14","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T05:22:14","slug":"columbus-police-officer-fatally-shoots-tyre-king-13-year-old-with-a-bb-gun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/columbus-police-officer-fatally-shoots-tyre-king-13-year-old-with-a-bb-gun.html","title":{"rendered":"Columbus police officer fatally shoots Tyre King, 13-year-old with a BB gun"},"content":{"rendered":"

Columbus police officer fatally shoots Tyre King, 13-year-old with a BB gun<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Columbus police officer fatally shoots Tyre King, 13-year-old with a BB gun<\/strong> : Police in Columbus, Ohio, say officers were responding to a report of an armed robbery Wednesday night when they encountered a person who pulled what appeared to be a gun from his waistband.<\/span><\/p>\n

An officer opened fire, hitting this person \u201cmultiple times,\u201d the Columbus police said. He was pronounced dead not long afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early Thursday, police said the person killed was 13-year-old Tyre King. Detectives investigating the shooting scene said they found what appeared to be a handgun, but \u201cupon further inspection, it was determined to be a BB gun with an attached laser site,\u201d according to a statement from the Columbus police.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe consider it a tragedy when something like this happens,\u201d Kim Jacobs, the Columbus police chief, said at a news conference Thursday morning. \u201cThis is the last thing that a police officer wants to do in their career.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyre is the second-youngest person fatally shot by a police officer this year, according to a Washington Post database.<\/span><\/p>\n

The youngest person shot and killed by police this year was Ciara Meyer, a 12-year-old in Pennsylvania accidentally struck by a bullet during an eviction. Since the beginning of last year, the only person younger than Tyre and Ciara killed by police was Jeremy Mardis, a 6-year-old shot while his father tried to flee officers in Louisiana.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAny loss of life is tragic, but the loss of a young person is particularly difficult,\u201d Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said at the briefing. \u201cAs a mayor and a father, the loss of a 13-year-old in the city of Columbus is troubling.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This episode \u2014 a white officer fatally shooting a black teenager \u2014 came after similar incidents have sparked protests across the country. Relatively little information was available Thursday beyond the initial account provided by police, who said they were gathering details, while the 13-year-old\u2019s family questioned this narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Police in Columbus said they were still seeking video of the shooting, something available when an officer in Cleveland fatally shot Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old with a toy gun, two years earlier. It did not appear the Columbus officers were wearing body cameras. While some officers in the Ohio capital wore cameras during a brief pilot program this summer, Jacobs said this program ended.<\/span><\/p>\n

Columbus police said officers were called about an armed robbery just after 7:40 p.m. Wednesday. A 911 recording released by police included a man saying he was robbed at gunpoint but not injured.<\/span><\/p>\n

When officers arrived, the person who reported being robbed said a group of people \u2014 one carrying what appeared to be a gun \u2014 demanded money, according to the police.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officers then saw three people they said matched descriptions from the reported robbery and approached them. Two ran away, and the officers followed them into an alley and went to take them into custody, police said. At that point, \u201cone suspect pulled a gun from his waistband,\u201d police officials said, and was shot by an officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 13-year-old was brought to a Columbus hospital and pronounced dead at 8:22 p.m. The officer who shot him, Bryan Mason, is a nine-year veteran of the Columbus police. Jacobs said Mason has been placed on administrative leave for at least a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mason is a \u201creally, really good officer,\u201d Jason Pappas, president of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9, told the Columbus Dispatch. Pappas, who said he went to the scene and spoke with Mason, said \u201cofficers do not have the luxury of knowing if it\u2019s a real gun or not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2012, Mason was involved in another fatal shooting. Authorities said he shot and killed a man who police say was aiming a gun at another person and refused commands to drop the weapon. Police said the following year that Mason acted within the department\u2019s policies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Attorneys representing Tyre\u2019s family said \u201cnumerous witness accounts\u201d contradict what police said happened Wednesday. They described Tyre as a typical 13-year-old who played sports and said behaviors described by police would have been out of character for him. (Police had initially spelled the 13-year-old\u2019s name as Tyree, rather than Tyre.)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPlease do not rush to judgment\u2026. We do not know what he did or did not do,\u201d Sean L. Walton, one of the family\u2019s attorneys, said in a statement. \u201cThere are allegations that have been made regarding his actions, and those allegations cannot be taken as factual until a thorough, unbiased investigation has taken place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials in Ohio\u2019s largest city called for calm and said they would share information with religious leaders and community members. While officials said the investigation was still beginning, they defended Mason and questioned Tyre\u2019s possession of the BB gun.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy is it that a 13-year-old would have nearly an exact replica of a police firearm on him in our neighborhoods?\u201d Ginther said. \u201cAn eighth grader, involved in very, very dangerous conduct, in one of our neighborhoods.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jacobs said the toy gun looks \u201cpractically identical\u201d to firearms carried by Columbus officers, holding up an image of what she said the BB gun looked like at the briefing outside City Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt turns out to not be a firearm in the sense that it fires real bullets, but as you can see, it looks like a firearm that could kill you,\u201d she said. Jacobs said authorities \u201care talking about a 13-year-old that we believe was involved in an armed robbery,\u201d saying officers who responded were \u201cready to deal with an armed suspect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After the news conference, the Columbus police also tweeted an image showing what they said was a replica of the BB gun:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

FATAL POLICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING:This is a replica of the 13yo suspects gun used in last night’s armed robbery. #CPD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/vKjlwYCKuY<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 Columbus Ohio Police (@ColumbusPolice) 15 September 2016<\/a><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n