A 13-year-old boy was shot by police on Tuesday. A sheriff's deputy thought the young boy was carrying an assault rifle along a California street, so he shot and killed the boy. The gun was fake.
The 13-year-old boy, Andy Lopez Cruz was actually carrying two fake guns, a replica AK-47 and a fake hand gun. The shooting is now being investigated after the boy was mistakenly killed, CNN reports.
Lopez was a student in the northern California city of Santa Rosa. "The Santa Rosa City School District family is deeply saddened by the loss of Andy Lopez Cruz," a school system statement said according to CNN. "This is a tragic event for family, schools and the community. His administrators and teachers will remember him as kind, intelligent and capable."
Two deputies from Sonoma County had seen the boy holding the guns on Tuesday afternoon. They pulled over, but continued to hide behind an open passenger door. The police yelled at the teen to put down the guns. The boy had his back to the officers and started to turn around towards them.
"One of the deputies described that as the subject was turning toward him the barrel of the assault rifle was rising up and turning in his direction. The deputy feared for his safety, the safety of his partner, and the safety of the community members in the area," the statement said according to CNN.
One of the deputies shot the teen. He was put in handcuffs while the officers called for an ambulance. The fake rifle was lying on the ground next to the boy and the toy handgun was tucked in his waistband.
Cruz's classmates at Lawrence Cook Middle School were distraught over the shooting. "He was a very popular student," Assistant Principal Linsey Gannon told CNN. "He was a handsome young man with many friends and a lovely family. He will be missed."
A memorial was organized on late on Wednesday. A crowd gathered at the dirt field where the boy was shot. The memorial turned into a rally against police shootings. Cruz's mother was among the crowd. Friends of Cruz's family are
angered over the incident.
"He was a 13-year-old boy who was no harm to anybody. This was not a grown man walking down the street with a gun," family friend Gabriel Roque told CNN. "He was a 13-year-old little boy, you could just tell him to put it down."
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