LAPD officer shoots 13-year-old carrying replica handgun

[News_Editor]

LAPD officer shoots 13-year-old carrying replica handgun

2010-12-19 01:24:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

LOS ANGELES (BNO NEWS) -- An officer with the Los Angeles Police Department on Thursday shot and injured a 13-year-old boy who was carrying a replica handgun, police said on Saturday.

The shooting happened just before 8 p.m. PST on Thursday evening when two LAPD officers on a routine patrol saw three pedestrians in the middle of a dark street. They stopped to investigate after which all three ran from the street.

Police said that two of the pedestrians had gone to the east side of the road, while another went to the west side of the road where he stood behind a parked van. Both officers exited their patrol car and police officer Victor Abarca, who has been with the LAPD for nearly three years, gave commands to a person who he believed was a young adult male.

"Officer Abarca gave commands for the subject to surrender as he illuminated him with a flashlight," a police statement said. "The subject refused to comply with the officer's commands and instead produced what was later determined to be a replica Berretta 92F handgun."

Officer Abarca, who was unable to see the orange tip of the pistol, which distinguishes it as a replica handgun, discharged his duty weapon, striking and injuring the person. The Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to the scene and transported him to a local hospital where he underwent surgery and is listed in critical but stable condition.

After the shooting, Officer Abarca and rescue personnel discovered that the wounded male was in fact just 13-years old, not a young adult man as initially believed. The other two subjects, both juveniles who are 13 and 14-years old, were detained without incident after dropping their real-looking replica handguns to the ground.

Detectives from the LAPD's Force Investigation Division responded to the scene and are conducting an investigation into the shooting. While the investigation is in its early stages, police said it has been determined that the subjects had been playing in the dark street, shooting pellets at each other with the replica handguns. No criminal charges are expected against any of the children.

"This is a tragedy for all involved, but in particular for the young man injured in this police shooting and for the officer who believed that he was protecting himself and his partner from a real threat," said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck. "The pellet gun the juvenile was using is the exact dimensions of a Beretta 92 F, and is indistinguishable from a real handgun on a dark night. We have seen far too much heartbreak involving these types of realistic looking guns that are labeled as toys."

Similar incidents have happened before, sometimes resulting in fatalities. In May 2009, a boy was injured when a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy shot him while playing "cops and robbers" with a toy handgun.

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