(Reuters) – A police officer shot an armed 14-year-old boy in New York City early on Sunday after he did not drop his gun when ordered, police said.
After hearing gunshots, two officers came across the boy, whom police identified as Shaaliver Douse, chasing another male down a street in the South Bronx, shooting after him with a 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun as he ran, police said.
The uniformed officers identified themselves as police and ordered Douse to drop his gun, police said. He did not do so, and one of the officers shot a single round, hitting Douse in his lower left jaw, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Both police officers, who joined the force in January, were taken to a hospital to be treated for tinnitus and trauma.
This isn’t about passing judgment on the police officer, either. Our gun culture created this scenario and countless others just like it.