Tamir Rice: 12-Year-Old Boy Playing With Fake Gun Dies After Being Shot By Police In Ohio Park

Lizzie Dearden
The Independent
Nov. 24, 2014

Police union: Officer-involved shooting of 12-year-old caught on surveillance video A 12-year-old boy has been shot dead by police in the US as he played with a fake gun in a park.

Tamir Rice, who was black, died of his wounds yesterday in hospital after being shot twice in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday.

A member of the public had phoned police saying people in the playground were scared by someone brandishing what looked like a gun.

In a recording released by officials, the caller can be heard saying: "There's a guy with a pistol...you know, it's probably fake but he's pointing it at everybody.

"I don't know if it's real or not."

The 911 responder twice asked whether the boy was black or white before dispatching officers.

When police arrived at the Cudell Recreation Center park, they told Tamir to raise his hands, deputy police chief Ed Tomba said.

When he allegedly took the replica gun from his waistband, an officer fired twice despite the fact the suspected weapon was not pointed at them and no threats were made.

The gun was an "airsoft" type replica that resembled a semi-automatic handgun. Fake weapons normally have an orange safety indicator on the muzzle but it had been removed, police said.



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