Teenager pulls out toy gun and is shot dead by policemen!

New York - An armed teenager was shot dead by police in a small town in the US state of New York. Only afterwards did it become clear that the 13-year-old's gun was not real.

The police officers stand around the motionless boy after the fatal shot and try to administer first aid.
The police officers stand around the motionless boy after the fatal shot and try to administer first aid.  © Screenshot/X/@AvinashKS14

The tragic incident took place on Friday in the small town of Utica, as the local police announced on their Facebook profile. On Sunday, investigators released further sad details of the operation.

That evening, a total of three officers were patrolling the streets in their patrol car when they noticed two teenagers who matched a description of the perpetrators of several robberies in recent days.

One of the two suddenly took flight during the police check, pulled out his toy pistol - a deceptively real replica of a "Glock" - for a tiny moment as he ran away and pointed it at the officers, as can be seen in the published bodycam footage.

Unaware that the gun pointed at him was not real, the officers gave chase and apprehended the boy. When the 13-year-old was already lying on the ground, one of the police officers fired at him with his real service weapon - a course of action that has been met with great incomprehension on social media ever since.

A short time later, the teenager succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

In this shaky bodycam recording, the fleeing boy can be seen pulling out a pistol, which the officers thought was real.
ContentImage.Description   © Utica Police

"Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time," the police said, promising a transparent investigation into the case.