Police in New York state say that a 13-year-old was fatally shot as he ran from authorities while holding a replica handgun.
Friday night, officers stopped Nyah Mway and another 13-year-old as the two matched descriptions of suspects that were wanted for robberies in Utica.
While the officer was talking to the boys, Mway left on foot, and a chase started. Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said that police saw would seemed to be a ‘handgun.’
One officer then took the boy down to the ground. “During a ground struggle,” another officer fired his weapon, striking the teen in the chest,” the police chief noted.
First aid was administered, but Mway died at a medical facility.
Many in the community have expressed backlash after body cam footage was released on Saturday night. The footage seems to show the teen pointing what police say was the replica weapon as he was running away. The officers can then be heard saying, “gun,” to each other.
The officers had thought they had seen a real handgun, police said. However, it was later found to be a replica of a Glock 17 weapon that could only shoot pellets or BB’s.
The three officers who are part of the occurrence were on patrol in the area, helping with two recent robbery investigations close by.
In one of the occurrences, two armed men with a black gun had demanded and stole property from victims. The suspects were said to be an Asian male and a dark-skinned male, one who was on foot and another on a bike.
Police say that they stopped Mway and the other teen because of the “identifying factors.”
The officers who were a part of the shooting have been identified as Patrick Husnay, who fired the fatal shot, Bryce Patterson, and Andrew Citriniti.
They have all been put on administrative leave as an investigation is continuing.
