World News Korner

13 year old boy shot to death by California police while carrying a toy pellet gun that resembled an AK-47.

Courtesy of the Christian Science Monitor:

On Tuesday afternoon, Andy Lopez was walking home from his friend’s house, toy gun in hand, when a sheriff’s deputy spotted him – and the AK-47 look-alike – from behind.

From there, everything unfolded in a matter of seconds.

The deputy and his partner, who were out on regular patrol duty, pulled over their car and took cover behind the vehicle’s doors, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

The patrol car’s overhead light and siren were activated, and law enforcement twice ordered Andy, who was about 20 to 30 feet away, to drop the gun, one witness said, according to an Associated Press report.

Andy began to turn around in the direction of the deputies, barrel of the rifle rising up, one officer said.

Seven bullets struck the young teenager. Sixteen seconds later, the officers called for medial attention, according to Reuters.

Andy died at the scene, and what was thought to be an assault weapon turned out to be a plastic replica, officers discovered.

The trademark orange tip that federal law requires toy-gun manufacturers to place on the ends of fake guns was missing from the pellet gun, law enforcement reported. Also, a toy handgun was found in Andy’s waistband, but it had the orange tip.

Police officers have to make snap decisions about a potentially dangerous situation, and this is certainly NOT the first toy gun toting child who has been shot to death by law enforcement, and sadly it will probably not be the last.

I really feel for these police officers who must be torn up over such a terrible incident, and while I also feel badly for his parents I am equally angry that they allowed him to take these realistic looking guns out into the streets.

In my home the children were NEVER allowed to play with guns that resembled real guns in any way. I would allow brightly painted squirt guns, and Nerf guns, but that was the extent of it, and it was for this very reason.

Part me almost wishes that the victim of this shooting were somebody more deserving.

Because you have to believe that the number of these assholes roaming the streets in order to bait the cops, and then post the video of the confrontation up on YouTube to impress their 2nd Amendment buddies, has put many in the law enforcement community on edge.

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