12-Year-Old Boy Critical After Mistaken Gun Cop Shooting
A 12-year-old Cleveland boy is fighting for his life at a local hospital after police shot him, mistaking the BB gun for an actual gun.
According to city law enforcement, around 3 p.m., a 911 call was made that an “armed” man was at the Crudell Rec Center in Cleveland, brandishing a weapon on the premise’s playground. One bystander who was present said the pre-teen was aiming the gun at some people that were near him, scaring them with it.
In the 911 call, the caller stated to dispatchers that the gun was probably a “fake”. However, there seems to have been some miscommunication between the dispatcher and police. When police arrived to investigate the situation, the boy was shot at twice, with one bullet hitting him in the stomach.
Cops said when they arrived, they ordered the child to cease and desist, telling him to drop the weapon and put his hands in the air. The officers said the child did not listen to them. When the 12-year-old reached for the gun in his pocket, they opened fire and shot him… thinking the gun was real.
A police department deputy said the critically injured boy did not threaten or aim his weapons at the cops.
The boy’s mother, Samaria Rice, is with him at Metro Health Medical Center, praying he’ll survive the shooting. She talked about the incident, saying her son was shot right in the stomach and was in surgery Saturday night.
Some people have speculated the boy’s actions could have warranted some officer suspicion, for bringing a weapon to the rec center. However, the 911 call does stipulate that the weapon could have been a fake. This has led many in the public to question if it was really necessary to shoot the child when he didn’t pose a threat.
Rice said she has no idea where her child would have obtained the BB gun, as she didn’t purchase it.
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