Tyree King, an 8th grader at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy, died at Nationwide Children’s Hospital around 8:22 p.m., roughly half an hour after police said he had been shot multiple times by officer Bryan Mason in an alley near East Capitol Street. It was later determined to be a pellet-shooting BB gun.
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Demetrius Braxton, the man who was with King, was not injured. Police spotted three people who fit the description the victim provided. However, when they attempted to speak with them, two of the males ran away, police said in a statement. “The cops said to get down”. He shot 13-year-old Tyre King in a Wednesday night confrontation after Tyre ran from officers investigating a reported armed robbery.
“He started to run”. It also came in the wake of over 2,000 police shootings since Ferguson that have raised many questions about police conduct, accountability, racism and militarization, but resulted in nearly no findings of wrongdoing.
“What I think has to shift is the police have to be serious about getting into a relationship understanding our culture understanding the issues we face and as it pertains to our young people”, she said. They provided no further information about him. “There are allegations that have been made regarding his actions, and those allegations can not be taken as factual until a thorough, unbiased investigation has taken place”, he said, adding, “There are multiple witnesses that we have been made aware of that do not corroborate the current narrative”.
He has been involved in several officer-involved shootings and this is the second time he has shot and killed someone.
Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs confirmed the incident referring to it as a tragedy.
Ginther said King’s death and the fact he had such a weapon should be a wakeup call for the city.
The shooting of King is the latest in an unending series of police atrocities. The huge and growing level of police violence is rooted in widening inequality and growing social tensions.
Mason, the officer who police said shot King, had shot and killed someone while on duty before. He was shot dead by the police.
The case has brought comparisons with the 2014 killing in the city of Cleveland of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot dead by a white police officer while playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation centre.
The police chased the pair into a nearby alley and tried to take them into custody. No warning was issued. However, a grand jury refused to indict the cops involved.
“Their proliferation in public is risky for the same reasons traditional firearms are, but also for an additional reason: they endanger kids who carry them in instances where someone (like a police officer) mistakes it for a different type of weapon”, Shearer said. Crawford had picked up a BB gun from an opened box in the store and was walking around with it while talking on a cell phone. Police officials have claimed virtually all were within policy guidelines.
Attorneys speaking for the family describe Tyre as a typical 13-year-old boy, saying he played football, soccer and hockey, participated in gymnastics and was in a young scholars program. The girl suffered scarring and will require future surgeries.
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In both cases, the officers involved were not charged. These shootings put the use of force by police into question and some of them have prompted protests against racial discrimination and obsession with guns. “I talked about life I talked about decision making, I talked about Tyre”. The weapon turned out to be unloaded.
