13-year-old armed with air rifle shot dead by police in Utica

A 13-year-old boy who allegedly brandished an air rifle was shot and killed by police after a foot chase in Utica, authorities said Saturday.

The shooting occurred around 10:18 p.m. Friday night after officers from the Utica Police Department’s Crime Prevention Unit approached two juveniles walking along Shaw Street.

After being stopped, the 13-year-old fled, whereupon the officers pursued him. He then showed “something that looked like a gun,” according to a police press release.

After a struggle on the ground, an officer “finally fired a shot from his weapon and hit the man,” Police Chief Mark Williams told reporters at a press conference on Saturday.

Officers later found “a replica GLOCK 17 Gen 5 pistol with a detachable magazine” at the scene. Williams said the weapon appeared to be an air pistol.

The boy, whom authorities identified only as Asian, was taken to Wynn Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased juvenile as well as our officers involved in this incident,” Utica police said in a statement.

Williams did not disclose the identities of the officers who were placed on paid administrative leave following the fatal shooting.

He also declined to give a reason for stopping the teenagers, but said police would release more information in the coming days, including bodycam footage of the incident.

A bystander video circulating on social media shows a trio of police officers chasing the boy in a residential area. After they finally catch up to him and bring him to the ground, one officer can be seen striking the boy before the shots are fired.

Behind the cameras, you can also hear the screams of neighbors expressing their dismay at the fatal shooting.

Police said they were aware of the video “which does not show the incident in its entirety” and “ask that the public be provided with all information that becomes available in the investigation of this tragic incident.”

Both the New York Attorney General’s office and the Utica Police Department are conducting separate investigations into the shooting.

With News Wire Services