Baltimore police shot a 13-year-old boy with a “replica” gun Wednesday, even though it appears that he did not point it at them.
All we know now is that two detectives in an unmarked car spotted the boy with the gun and started chasing him before they shot him, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Witnesses told WBAL-TV reporter Jayne Miller that the cops did not look like cops and that the boy eventually stopped after realizing they were cops and held the gun up and said, “it’s not real.”
And that was when one of the cops opened fire.
A video recorded of police speaking to who is apparently the boy’s brother shows the cop telling him that the “gun looked 100 percent real.”
“But if he’s not pointing it at nobody, why is that right to shoot?” the man responds in the first video below.
The boy survived the shooting but was rushed to the hospital.
Baltimore police have not released much information but they have been quick to blame the boy’s mother, saying that she knew he walked out the house with that gun.
The second video below shows them handcuffing her, but police were also quick to say she was not arrested; that they were only bringing her in for questioning.
And obviously police are unable to have a conversation with anybody unless that person is handcuffed.
The incident took place on the one-year anniversary of the riot that followed the Freddie Gray funeral.
It also took place two days after the city of Cleveland agreed to a $6 million settlement with the family of Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police for carrying a pellet gun.
The Cleveland police union chief suggested that the family should use proceeds of that settlement to help educate children about not playing with toy guns to keep police from shooting them.
NEW: Man records police commander explaining this afternoon’s shooting of 13 yr old. “That gun looked 1000% real” pic.twitter.com/FEtYNE8LUX
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) April 27, 2016
Correction: Mother of 14 shot taken in for questioning, not arrested acc’ding to police. Witness video compressed. pic.twitter.com/t66dTLBn5g
— J. M. Giordano photo (@jmgpix) April 27, 2016
BPD released this picture of the replica gun they say a 13 yo boy was carrying when 2 officers shot him. pic.twitter.com/kHAf5pgxlm
— George Lettis (@WBALettis) April 27, 2016
The post Baltimore Police Shoot 13-year-old Boy Holding “Replica” Gun appeared first on PINAC News.