12-Year-Old Boy with Fake Gun Shot, Killed by Ohio Police Officer

A boy brandishing a replica gun died Sunday after being shot by a Cleveland police officer responding to a 911 call about a person waving a gun in a park.

Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said the officer fired twice after the boy pulled the fake weapon — which was lacking the orange safety indicator usually on the muzzle — from his waistband.

The boy, who was 12, did not make any verbal threats toward the officer or point the gun, but reached into his waistband and grabbed it after being told to raise his hands, Tomba said.

“That’s when the officer fired,” he said.

The shooting happened Saturday after officers responded to reports of a male with a gun. A man who called 911 told dispatchers that the boy was at a recreation center pointing a pistol that was “probably fake” and scaring everyone.