BATTLE CREEK, MI – Kristin Tate over at BenSwann.com is reporting on a story where a police officer shot and critically wounded a boy carrying a toy gun. A Battle Creek officer shot a 14-year-old boy who was showing a gun that turned out to be a fake replica handgun. The teen was identified as Nicholas King and is at Bronson Methodist Hospital in critical condition on a breathing tube.
“I want to know what happened, and why he, why this officer did what he did to my son? Nicholas King did not deserve this,” his mother Patricia Nelson said. [contextly_sidebar id=”b490e0727072ab0070b7b458cc4efa38″]
Officers had been called to the area on Saturday after someone reported seeing a man with a gun, according to the police. The subject appeared to be carrying a black pistol and was running towards some bushes near a party store.
When the officers arrived at the store, Nicholas came out and crouched down near the shop’s drive-thru area. Officers demanded he show his hands, at which point the subject “produced” what they said looked like a large-caliber handgun. An officer fired one shot, causing Nicholas to flee and be found nearby with a gunshot wound.
A witness claims that Nicholas raised his arms when the officer told him to. Shannon Cortes was there with her friend Nicholas and said that he did not have the toy gun in his hand at the time. “His hand was completely clear,” she said.
The police have called in the Michigan State Police to investigate and the officer was placed on paid administrative leave.
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