Cop Fired 10 Seconds After Spotting Boy With BB Gun

Outrage follows death of Andy Lopez, 13
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 25, 2013 8:32 AM CDT
Cop Fired 10 Seconds After Spotting Boy With BB Gun
Andy Lopez, who was killed by sheriff's deputies in Santa Rosa, Calif. Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013.   (AP Photo/Courtesy of Lopez family via The Press Democrat)

Details are emerging after California police shot and killed a boy carrying a BB gun on Tuesday, revealing police opened fire just 10 seconds after reporting a "suspicious person." The Press Democrat reports that two police on patrol pulled over and took cover when they saw Andy Lopez carrying what they thought was an AK-47. They ordered the teen to "put the gun down," and when he turned in their direction, a veteran deputy told investigators he fired eight rounds, fearing for himself and his partner. The 13-year-old was hit seven times, NBC News reports, with an autopsy showing that two fatal shots hit him in the hip and chest.

Santa Rosa residents are outraged, and have been staging protests and "Justice for Andy" events. For the second night in a row last night, 700 residents marched to the spot where Lopez died, led by his parents, and released white balloons. "We're all supporting each other so that this won't happen again, so that they treat us like human beings," a Latino woman said. Reuters points out that an advisory panel suggested that civilian-review boards be created in 2000, after eight fatal officer-related shootings in Sonoma County; the county did not do so. (More police shooting stories.)

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