Mason has been placed on leave while Tyre’s shooting is investigated, in keeping with department policy.
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While angry messages flooded social media, Columbus officials called for calm during an investigation into the death. “Unfortunately.it becomes necessary at times to defend themselves”, police Chief Kim Jacobs told reporters at a news conference in Columbus. Sirens were heard moments later as police searched for the suspects.
The officers and the other suspect weren’t injured.
“A 13-year-old is dead in the city of Columbus because of our obsession with guns”, he said.
Mayor Andrew Ginther said as a city leader and father, the loss of a 13-year-old is troubling. A call to the head of the police union representing him was not immediately returned.
Mason has shot and killed someone while on duty before.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that investigators concluded Mason acted within policy in that case. They provided no further information about him.
Tyre was shot Wednesday night after running from officers investigating a reported armed robbery.
“It looks like a firearm that could kill you”, Jacobs said, as she held up an image of the same type of BB gun. He said the family believes Tyre’s involvement in an armed robbery would be “out of character”.
“It’s a weapon – it was used in a robbery”, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. He had a slight build and, if anything, was on the small side for his age, the attorney said. The other person who ran with King was interviewed and released and the department says it is looking for additional suspects in the robbery.
Police say his weapon looked real.
Ironically, news of Tyree’s shooting and killing by police comes at the same time that news of 12-year-old Tamir’s makeshift memorial at the gazebo where Rice was shot and killed being relocated to Chicago’s Stony Island Arts Bank has brought online buzz.
There was no chase in Tamir’s case. A rookie officer shot Tamir nearly immediately after his police cruiser stopped nearby.
The shooting is being compared to the shooting of Tamir Rice by Cleveland police but this time according to officers they may have had reason to fear for their lives.
He was shot in a Columbus alley around nightfall Wednesday. He questioned why an eighth-grader would have a replica of a police firearm. Cops pursued the pair into an alley where King allegedly reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun with a scope on it.
A grand jury will ultimately decide whether the officer should face criminal charges, Jacobs said. The Columbus Police force is already under fire for the shooting of Henry Green. The gun was later discovered to be a pellet gun, according to local press reports.
Police then noticed three males matching the description of the suspect on Hoffman Street. Police said that’s when 13-year-old Tyree King pulled out a gun, and one officer fired his weapon, hitting the boy repeatedly.
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The teen, identified as Tyree King, died at the hospital at 8:22 p.m.
