The Samaria Rice fake gun incident Saturday resulted in the death of Rice, a 12-year-old boy who allegedly waved a replica handgun before being shot by a Cleveland police officer. Rice died early Sunday while being treated at a local hospital, according to an attorney for Tamir Rice, the boy's mother.
After the Samaria Rice fake gun incident, the 12-year-old was listed in critical condition and had undergone surgery Saturday night.
The Samaria Rice fake gun incident reportedly occurred in the playground area next to the Cudell Recreation Center at Detroit Avenue and West Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Saturday when police responded to the report of a child "waving around" a gun and scaring people, according to TV station WOIO.
An unidentified man sitting nearby where the Samaria Rice fake gun incident occurred called 911 out of concern
"'I'm sitting in the park...there's a guy in here with a pistol. It's probably fake, but he's pointing it at everybody," the witness told authorities, according to the 911 call released to the station. "But he's pointing it at everybody, and he's scaring the s*** out of people," added the man.
After several minutes, two Cleveland Police officers - a rookie and a 10-15 year veteran - arrived at the scene of the Samaria Rice fake gun incident and apparently saw the boy pick up the gun from a table and put it in his waistband.
The rookie reportedly told the boy to put his hands up, who refused.
Instead, the 12-year-old reached for the BB gun from his waistband outside the recreation center in Cleveland and suddenly, one officer fired his weapon and shot the young boy two times, and despite the 911 caller's warning that the gun was likely fake.
The Samaria Rice fake gun confrontation resulted in the boy getting shot in his torso, after which he was taken to a hospital. According to Cleveland.com, at least one of the bullets hit him in the stomach.
Union officials claimed that the officers involved in the Samaria Rice fake gun altercation - one of whom was later taken to hospital with an ankle injury - acted responsibly, even if the boy didn't possess a real gun, reports the Daily Mail.
Police said they could not risk the possibility that the gun was not an actual threat.
"We have to assume every gun is real," said Jeff Follmer, Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association president, reports News One. "When we don't, that's the day we don't go home."
Rice was rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center after the Samaria Rice fake gun event, where he underwent surgery Saturday evening. However, the boy still died early Sunday.
After the Samaria Rice fake gun shooting incident Saturday, officers discovered the gun fake. Jennifer Ciaccia, a spokeswoman for the Division of Police told Fox 8 later on that the weapon the boy carried was "an airsoft type replica gun resembling a semi-automatic pistol."
"It looks really, really real, and it's huge," Ciaccia said.
The division added that the gun's orange safety indicator was removed during the Samaria Rice fake gun episode.
During an evening press conference, Deputy Chief of Field Operations Ed Tomba said the incident is "very, very tragic", adding that Rice did not threaten the officer verbally or physically.
"There was no verbal or no confrontation," he said. "When an officer gives a command, we expect it to be followed. The way it looks like right now, it wasn't followed, but we're going to continue our investigation."
Meanwhile, an angry woman present at the Samaria Rice fake gun scene said the officer's actions and response were unnecessary, reports the New York Daily News.
"Always kill a black kid right?" the witness said while still at the scene.
During a telephone interview with Action News 19 from the hospital, Samaria Rice, the victim's mother, said her son went to the center with his friends and older sister.
Samaria Rice said she first heard of the Samaria Rice fake gun shooting incident when two men came to her home and told her that her son had been shot. She added that her son did not have access to the weapon and she does not know how he acquired it.
After she was informed of the Samaria Rice fake gun happening, she rushed to the scene. However, she never got the chance to see her child before being transported to the hospital. She said her family lives across the street from the recreation center.
A woman answered the phone at the recreation center Saturday, and said it had been closed off. She referred further questions about the fake gun incident to police.
The shooting falls within a 24-hour period where seven people died of gunfire on Cleveland's east side, reports the New York Times.
Friday evening, five people, including a pregnant woman and her unborn son, died from an execution-style shooting at a home in the Glenville neighborhood, according to police.
Early Saturday morning, two men also died from gunshot wounds in a car that had crashed into a fence.
No arrests have been made in regard to the shootings.
The Samaria Rice fake gun shooting is being investigated by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office by Saturday evening. Both officers are reportedly on paid leave. According to a spokesman, investigators will determine if the officer was justified in shooting the boy.
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