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13-year-old boy carrying pellet gun shot dead by police in California
Police in Santa Rosa say they thought the replica firearm the teenager was carrying as he walked to a friend's house was real
Hundreds of people marched through the northern Californian town of Santa Rosa on Wednesday night to demand justice for the death of a 13-year-old boy shot by police while carrying a pellet gun to his friend’s house.
Andy Lopez was killed the day after a 12-year-old boy shot dead a maths teacher and himself at a school in the neighbouring state of Nevada. Two Santa Rosa sheriff’s deputies said they opened fire after repeatedly asking Andy to drop the replica assault rifle, which they believed to be real. The teenager was declared dead at the scene on Tuesday.
According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the deputies were driving by when they spotted the teenager walking “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”. Lopez had his back to the officers, who did not realise he was a boy. They called for backup and, they said, ordered him twice to drop the gun. The teenager was around 20-30ft away when he turned towards them. “He was holding the weapon in his left hand,” said Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa Police. “He began to turn toward his right in the direction of the deputy, and he moved the gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful he would be shot.”
One eyewitness recounted the incident to the news station KGO-TV. “He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots,” Ismael Mondragon said.
The boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez, told reporters his son had borrowed the replica AK-47 from a friend, and was walking to the other boy’s home to return it. “It’s not right what they did to my son,” Mr Lopez said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/13yearold-boy-carrying-pellet-gun-shot-dead-by-police-in-california-8900696.html
Hundreds of people marched through the northern Californian town of Santa Rosa on Wednesday night to demand justice for the death of a 13-year-old boy shot by police while carrying a pellet gun to his friend’s house.
Andy Lopez was killed the day after a 12-year-old boy shot dead a maths teacher and himself at a school in the neighbouring state of Nevada. Two Santa Rosa sheriff’s deputies said they opened fire after repeatedly asking Andy to drop the replica assault rifle, which they believed to be real. The teenager was declared dead at the scene on Tuesday.
According to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, the deputies were driving by when they spotted the teenager walking “with what appeared to be some type of rifle”. Lopez had his back to the officers, who did not realise he was a boy. They called for backup and, they said, ordered him twice to drop the gun. The teenager was around 20-30ft away when he turned towards them. “He was holding the weapon in his left hand,” said Lt Paul Henry of Santa Rosa Police. “He began to turn toward his right in the direction of the deputy, and he moved the gun toward the deputy, and the deputy’s mindset was that he was fearful he would be shot.”
One eyewitness recounted the incident to the news station KGO-TV. “He pulled over to the kid walking and he just opened the door and shot him, three shots,” Ismael Mondragon said.
The boy’s father, Rodrigo Lopez, told reporters his son had borrowed the replica AK-47 from a friend, and was walking to the other boy’s home to return it. “It’s not right what they did to my son,” Mr Lopez said.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/13yearold-boy-carrying-pellet-gun-shot-dead-by-police-in-california-8900696.html
Why can't the cops and media just talk people out of carrying guns and committing shootings? No guns would ever be needed then and the unicorns and pixie dust could settle on us all and we'd live rainbow dreams forever....
Police Departments hire hundreds of military vets. The over whelming majority of them are incredible law enforcement officers. (We have about a dozen on our small local force.)
A "firearm expert" cannot tell the difference between some of these toy guns and the real ones. I would bet that this kid turned around and dragged the muzzle of this gun across the cops.... Go point your bb gun at a cop and see what happens... please, then get back to me with first hand information.... oh, and make sure you are not listening to directives. That will add more insight. Better yet, does your community allow "ride alongs"? Go for a few "ride alongs".
You are not innocent if you are not following directions. In order for a cop to be able to determine if an area, person or situation is approachable, they offer directives in order to secure the area. If one neglects these directives, the situation climbs a rung on the ladder and sometimes this happens really, really fast... like if someone points a gun at a cop. It is not a cops job to sit there and take a bullet to determine if a gun is real or not. It is fully that cops job to inject himself/herself into any given situation and try to neutralize the situation.
I'm not blaming the kid, but if he would have dropped to the ground and more or less surrendered, he would not have been shot. If these cops shot the kid while he was on the ground and unarmed, you've got a case.
Police Departments hire hundreds of military vets. The over whelming majority of them are incredible law enforcement officers. (We have about a dozen on our small local force.)
A "firearm expert" cannot tell the difference between some of these toy guns and the real ones. I would bet that this kid turned around and dragged the muzzle of this gun across the cops.... Go point your bb gun at a cop and see what happens... please, then get back to me with first hand information.... oh, and make sure you are not listening to directives. That will add more insight. Better yet, does your community allow "ride alongs"? Go for a few "ride alongs".
You are not innocent if you are not following directions. In order for a cop to be able to determine if an area, person or situation is approachable, they offer directives in order to secure the area. If one neglects these directives, the situation climbs a rung on the ladder and sometimes this happens really, really fast... like if someone points a gun at a cop. It is not a cops job to sit there and take a bullet to determine if a gun is real or not. It is fully that cops job to inject himself/herself into any given situation and try to neutralize the situation.
I'm not blaming the kid, but if he would have dropped to the ground and more or less surrendered, he would not have been shot. If these cops shot the kid while he was on the ground and unarmed, you've got a case.
All I know for sure is it seems for the norm than a rarity that innocent people are dying at the hands of our police. And frankly, I think it needs addressed. It is NOT okay! I will repeat that, IT IS NOT okay! And Im tired of making excuses for it to continue.
The police car stopped behind the kid 10 seconds of the police car stopping, a 13 year old boy was dead.
Um, gee el, I missed you too. Sorry if I wasn't clear or didn't explain what I heard on the local radio concerning an eyewitness report. Here is what I do know and what I found online.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sonoma-County-Deputy-Who-Killed-Andy-Lopez-13-IDd-as-Erick-Gelhause-229588421.html
The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who fired the shots that killed a 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle last week is a firearms expert, Iraq War veteran, and a regular contributor to magazines and blogs, where in one article, he wrote about needing to have a "mean gene" to stay alive in the "kill zone."
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat first reported the name of the deputy as Erick Gelhaus, 48, which was confirmed to NBC Bay Area on Monday by Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Dueñas. In a November 2008 SWAT Magazine article titled "Ambush Reaction in the Kill Zone," (PDF) Gelhaus wrote that in order to stay alive, you must take action and have a necessary "mean gene."
"If you cannot turn on the "Mean Gene" for yourself, who will?" Gelhaus wrote in a training article to teach law enforcement not to get killed while encountering an ambush.
**********************************************************************
Why is a military guy patrolling our streets with an attitude like you have to have mean gene ?? This was a neighborhood not a war zone !!!!
Um, gee el, I missed you too. Sorry if I wasn't clear or didn't explain what I heard on the local radio concerning an eyewitness report. Here is what I do know and what I found online.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Sonoma-County-Deputy-Who-Killed-Andy-Lopez-13-IDd-as-Erick-Gelhause-229588421.html
The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who fired the shots that killed a 13-year-old boy carrying a replica assault rifle last week is a firearms expert, Iraq War veteran, and a regular contributor to magazines and blogs, where in one article, he wrote about needing to have a "mean gene" to stay alive in the "kill zone."
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat first reported the name of the deputy as Erick Gelhaus, 48, which was confirmed to NBC Bay Area on Monday by Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Dueñas. In a November 2008 SWAT Magazine article titled "Ambush Reaction in the Kill Zone," (PDF) Gelhaus wrote that in order to stay alive, you must take action and have a necessary "mean gene."
"If you cannot turn on the "Mean Gene" for yourself, who will?" Gelhaus wrote in a training article to teach law enforcement not to get killed while encountering an ambush.
**********************************************************************
Why is a military guy patrolling our streets with an attitude like you have to have mean gene ?? This was a neighborhood not a war zone !!!!
"Why hasn't anyone said... "The stupid kid shouldn't have been walking around with a freaking GUN in his hands, fake or not"? "
I think I alluded to that above. From a distance, you'd be hard pressed to discern some of the "toy guns" from "real guns".
Until I hear a report that the cops just drove up and opened fire, I am going to go with what was reported. The cops showed up, drew their weapons (because someone had a gun), shouted directives, the kid supposedly made a move with the gun and was consequently shot.
Has anyone here besides me ever have a gun pointed at you?
I think I alluded to that above. From a distance, you'd be hard pressed to discern some of the "toy guns" from "real guns".
Until I hear a report that the cops just drove up and opened fire, I am going to go with what was reported. The cops showed up, drew their weapons (because someone had a gun), shouted directives, the kid supposedly made a move with the gun and was consequently shot.
Has anyone here besides me ever have a gun pointed at you?
BTW, I think that it is bs that they couldn't try to shoot a kid in such a way as to wound him rather than kill him. The mindset of police officers that everyone is a criminal first and innocent last makes them A holes to deal with (know a few). I get it, part of their work is to protect themselves but yeah, I could see a 13 year old stand there like a deer in headlights with police when he doesn't even get what they are upset at. He KNOWS it is a toy and maybe didn't even think it would be mistaken for something else. I think if you yelled stand down to a kid who has a plastic gun that they might not put it together that you are saying ditch the toy! That actually DOES make sense to me.
Can we all just agree that this is SAD?
The kid is dead because he was walking down the street with a semi-automatic weapon.
If it'd been real, and he'd started shooting people, and managed to kill someone, there would be OUTRAGE regarding the lack of police presence.
The kid is neither wrong nor right.
The police are neither wrong nor right.
Things aren't ALWAYS black & white. Sometimes, things are just in the GREY area, and need to stay there. This is one of those things.
Tragic? Yes.
Avoidable? Yes.
Sad? Yes.
Time for finger-pointing? No.
Shoot to kill. Shoot to disable. Shoot to wound. Shoot to tickle. Whatever.
Why hasn't anyone said... "The stupid kid shouldn't have been walking around with a freaking GUN in his hands, fake or not"?
The kid is dead because he was walking down the street with a semi-automatic weapon.
If it'd been real, and he'd started shooting people, and managed to kill someone, there would be OUTRAGE regarding the lack of police presence.
The kid is neither wrong nor right.
The police are neither wrong nor right.
Things aren't ALWAYS black & white. Sometimes, things are just in the GREY area, and need to stay there. This is one of those things.
Tragic? Yes.
Avoidable? Yes.
Sad? Yes.
Time for finger-pointing? No.
Shoot to kill. Shoot to disable. Shoot to wound. Shoot to tickle. Whatever.
Why hasn't anyone said... "The stupid kid shouldn't have been walking around with a freaking GUN in his hands, fake or not"?
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