– US police shoot teen with fake gun (PressTV, Nov 18, 2013):
A 14-year-old Battle Creek boy was being treated Saturday afternoon after being shot once by a police officer.
Battle Creek police said the youth was holding a replica of a semi-automatic handgun when he was shot.
Deputy Chief James Saylor said the boy was shot once when the officer, called to investigate a man with a gun outside a convenience store near the intersection of South Washington Avenue and Grove Street, confronted the teen, who was crouched down outside the store.
The teen was ordered by an officer to show his hands. When he did so, the officer saw that he was holding what appeared to be a large-caliber handgun, police said. The officer fired one shot, which struck the teen, who ran from the scene. Officers chased him and called for medical assistance.
Saylor said they don’t believe the injuries are life-threatening. The boy’s name and his condition were not released Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening, police said they believed the boy would make a full recovery.
Saylor gave this account of the events in the shooting late Saturday afternoon:
He said officers were called at 11:57 a.m. for a man with gun. The caller told a 911 dispatcher a white man was walking on Upton Avenue near Washington Avenue with a woman and was carrying a gun.
Officers arrived in the area at 12:01 p.m. and reported the male was running through some bushes toward the Drive Thru Party Factory at 250 S. Washington Ave. near Grove Street and was carrying what appeared to be handgun.
The male entered the store but then came out and was crouching near the drive-through area of the store.
The officer arrived, saw the person, and called for him to show his hands. Saylor said the investigation thus far shows that the teen produced what appeared to be a large-caliber handgun from his clothing.
The officer fired a single shot and the teen dropped the gun and ran. Officers found him a short distance away and called for an ambulance.
The officer, with the department for 21 years, has been placed on paid administrative leave and the Michigan State Police have begun an investigation.
The officer, whom Saylor declined to identify, was not injured. Freep.com