A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed in Northern California Tuesday when officers opened fire, thinking his fake assault rifle was real.
According to the Associated Press, the toy gun was inspired by the AK-47. Two Sonoma County deputies saw the boy carrying the gun that they thought was a real weapon and repeatedly asked the boy to drop it. When the boy hesitated, the officers fired several shots – seven, according to a neighbor who heard the gun shots. Paramedics rushed to the scene, but the boy was pronounced dead immediately.
"The two deputies repeatedly ordered the subject to drop the rifle and at some point immediately thereafter, the deputies fired several rounds from their handguns at the subject striking him several times," the sheriff department said, reports Reuters. "The subject fell to the ground and landed on top of the rifle he was carrying."
Rodrigo Lopez identified the boy as his son Andy. He recalled the last words he said to his son Tuesday morning, "I told him what I tell him every day," he said in Spanish. "Behave yourself."
The teenager’s mother, Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez, said, ""Why did they kill him? Why?"
The deputies involved are now on administrative leave while officials investigate the incident.