The fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old Columbus boy who officers said pulled a BB gun from his waistband that looked like a real weapon will be investigated thoroughly to determine if charges are warranted.
In a killing with unavoidable echoes of the Tamir Rice case out of Cleveland, a Columbus officer responding to a report of a $10 armed robbery shot a young boy Wednesday night after he pulled out a BB gun that looked “practically identical” to the weapon that police officers use, authorities said.
Evidence from the shooting will automatically be presented to a grand jury to determine whether the officer’s actions were justified.
Mayor Andrew Ginther appeared to choke up Thursday as he called for the community to come together and questioned why an eighth-grader would have a replica of a police firearm.
“There is something wrong in this country, and it is bringing its epidemic to our city streets,” Ginther said Thursday. “And a 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns and violence.”
Dozens attended a vigil Thursday night near the shooting, including members of Tyre King’s youth football team. Some carried signs calling for justice for Tyre, while candles spelled out “RIP Tyre King.”
The boy’s family called for an investigation conducted “in a manner that ensures fairness and truth,” and said people shouldn’t rush to judgment about Tyre’s activities that night.
Police and city authorities also promised a full investigation, while rejecting comparisons to the 2014 killing of 12-year-old Tamir in Cleveland.
Officers investigating the robbery report east of downtown Columbus spotted three males who matched the description of the suspects, authorities said. Two of the males ran away when officers tried to speak with them.
The police chased the pair into an alley and tried to take them into custody. Tyre pulled out a gun with a laser sight, and an officer fired, hitting the boy multiple times, police said. Tyre later died at a hospital.
The officer was identified as Bryan Mason, a nine-year veteran of the force. Police records show that in 2012 he shot and killed a man who was holding another person at gunpoint. The Columbus Dispatch said investigators cleared him.
In keeping with department policy, Mason has been placed on leave while Tyre’s shooting is investigated. A call to the head of the police union representing him was not immediately returned.
An attorney for Tyre’s family, Sean Walton, called for an independent investigation. Walton would not discuss any previous dealings Tyre had with police but said the boy had no violent criminal history. He said the family believes Tyre’s involvement in an armed robbery would be “out of character.”
Tyre played several sports, including football, and was in the young scholars program at school, Walton said. He had a slight build and, if anything, was on the small side for his age, the attorney said.
In Tamir’s case, a 911 caller reported someone pointing a gun at people near a recreation center. A rookie officer shot the boy almost immediately after pulling up in his cruiser. The officer and his partner were cleared of wrongdoing.
The 911 caller had said the person with the gun was probably a juvenile and the weapon was probably fake, but that information was never passed on to the officers.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
He pulled a gun on an officer. Whether it was a bb gun or not, what was this kid thinking and he was guilty of robbing a store as well. People please, keep an eye on your kids, pay attention to them.
When I was a small boy many years ago toy guns and BB guns looked like toys, not the real thing. Why not use common sense legislation that requires toys to look like toys. Liberals will use this as another excuse to try to do away with guns when we need a return to common sense marketing and parental control. If we quit purchasing these realistic looking guns, manufacturers will quit making them. Supply ecanomics work, no market available means no sales, why make something that no one will buy. This is a tragic mistake and it ended with a loss of life for a young man and a life of regret for a police officer that had to make a split second decision when faced with a potentially life threatening situaution. I’m sorry for the loss of life for the family of this boy and for the officer that must live with this for the rest of his life. Support both with our prayers and condolences.
The problem is not “our obsession with guns and violence”. It is because of criminal use of guns, and also some law enforcement officers shooting too quickly. I am a big supporter of law enforcement, and can understand the pressures put on them. However, sometimes they shoot instead of ordering the suspect to drop a gun first. I am expecting to get backlash from this comment, but if you really look at some of these situations, the facts are the facts. More needs to be done to solve some of this killing on all sides.
THE LAW STATES THAT TOY GUNS HAVE A RED MUZZLE ON THEM, I GUESS IF YOU REMOVE IT YOU GET SHOT.
Hog wash !
I grew up in the 50’s and almost every cap gun you could buy looked like the real thing. He!! you even loaded the caps in them like you do real bullets. I still have a Roy Rogers cap gun that looks like a real 40/45 cal. It’s not the toy but a combination of parents teaching the kids how to handle themselves and what is Right and what is WRONG and the children then do it.
At 13 you should know enough to stop when told to do so and then not point a gun, toy or otherwise at a officier of the law.
I agree. We as parents are responsible for what our kids do and where they are. If this young man was involved with his school to the extent of a scholar’s program, surely he would be informed and intelligent enough to make a better decision. Pulling and aiming a gun at a police officer normally has this type of result. They are properly trained to do just that. No one has denied that he was involved in the robbery that I have seen either.
My heart goes out to this young man’s family. People need to understand that society MUST take and accept responsibility for tragic incidents like this too. Young kids are NOT stupid, they are intelligent, but ignorant as to the consequences of their actions, meaning that it all begins at HOME with guideance and discipline from PARENTS and FAMILY.
It takes a split second to make a decision, and during that time frame when a police officer sees ANYONE pulling out a fire arm, being real or not, he or she will fear for their lives and that of others being in mortal danger, and ACT accordingly to preseve life.
A split second to decide, not much time, and just like anyone else in this life, police officers want to go home at the end of the day to their families too, I know that first hand, because I was a police officer.
Please people, for the love of God teach your sons and daughters to always do the right things, and stay out of trouble.
This young man was not 3 years old, he knew better very stupid. Where were his parents or whoever was raising him? So stupid!
To All Parents, if you have not been doing your job teaching your kids what can happen if someone pulls anything that looks like a weapon on a law enforcement officer, then your child can expect to be shot if it happens. Nothing news about this its basic parenting skills.
If the officer assumes the civilian is carrying a fake gun, the officer may be the one leaving the scene in a body bag.
I would not classify a BB gun as a toy. It can do real damage. It’s time for adults to teach kids some commonsense about guns. Among the lessons is you never pull a weapon, even a toy one, on a police officer. The police officer’s gun is not a toy and he/she is trained to use their weapon with lethal accuracy.