NEW YORK (AP) — An officer in upstate New York fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who had been tackled to the ground after he ran from police while carrying a replica handgun, authorities said Saturday.
The shooting occurred around 10:15 p.m. Friday after officers stopped two youths for an unspecified “police investigation,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said.
One of them, identified by police as Nyah Mway, allegedly ran from the officers and “displayed” a handgun that was later determined to be a replica of a Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine. “During a ground struggle” with the teen, one of the officers fired a single shot that struck the boy in the chest, Williams said.
The teen was given “immediate” first aid by the officers and taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.
The replica gun carried by the teen “is in all aspects a realistic appearing firearm with GLOCK markings, signatures, detachable magazine, and serial numbers,” Lt. Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, said via email. “However ultimately it fires only pellets or BB’s.”
A bystander video posted to Facebook shows one of the officers chasing after Nyah Mway and tackling him to the ground. It also shows the officer punching the teen as two other officers arrive. A gunshot rings out as the teen is on the ground and the officers quickly stand up.
Williams cautioned that the bystander video does not portray the event in its entirety.
The officers involved in the shooting, whose names were not immediately released, were placed on administrative leave with pay.
The shooting has roiled Utica, a city some 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan that is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.
Nyah Mway, who local media reports said was an 8th grader at Donovan Middle School, has been identified as a refugee born in Myanmar and a member of the Karen ethnic minority.
Karens are an ethnic minority that are among the groups warring with the military rulers of the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
During a tense news conference Saturday, Williams would not say what prompted police to stop the two youths or what the investigation concerned. The news conference ended early as Williams, the city’s mayor and an interpreter struggled to speak over repeated audience outbursts. Members of the community, including the youth’s family, were in attendance.
Williams pledged to release unedited video of the officers’ body-worn cameras but had not done so as of Saturday evening.
The police department is conducting its own internal investigation to see whether officers followed policies and training. The state attorney general, which did not respond to a request for comment Saturday, will open its own case to determine if the shooting was justified.
“I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased party during this difficult time,” Williams said. “This is a tragic and traumatic incident for all involved.”
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Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.