Police Fatally Shoot Upstate NY Boy Who Had Replica Gun, Officials Say

UTICA, NY — An officer in upstate New York fatally shot a 13-year-old boy Friday night, after authorities said the teen pulled out a realistic-looking pellet gun as police were chasing him.

The shooting caused an outpouring of grief and disbelief in Utica, a city of about 65,000 people in the Mohawk Valley. At a press conference Saturday, Police Chief Mark Williams said officers stopped two teen pedestrians at around 10:18 p.m. Friday regarding an ongoing robbery investigation, and one of them ran away.

The teen has been identified as Nyah Mway, an 8th-grade student who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Myanmar and is a member of the Karen ethnic minority. Utica is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.

Williams said as Mway fled from police, he "displayed what appeared to be a handgun." This prompted a number of outcries from family members and community members in attendance, and officials stopped the news conference for a short time to ask the crowd for quiet.

As he resumed, Williams said one of the police officers fired a single shot at Mway “during a ground struggle” and struck him in the chest. He was given “immediate” first aid by the officers and taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.

Utica PD identified the officer who fired his gun as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the agency. He and fellow officers Bryce Patterson and Andrew Citriniti were placed on administrative leave with pay; none of them were reportedly injured.

At the scene, officers recovered a replica GLOCK 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine that turned out to be a pellet gun, Williams said. Police released edited footage from the responding officers' body cameras on Saturday evening.

Kathleen Davis, interim superintendent of the Utica City School District, offered condolences to the victim’s family in a statement posted online. Davis expressed “profound sadness” over the “tragic and senseless loss,” and encouraged parents to reach out to the district if their child needs someone to talk to.

'This tragedy reminds us of the tremendous challenges our community faces, particularly our partners in law enforcement, who tirelessly strive to ensure our streets remain safe," she wrote. "We offer them our support as they navigate these complexities and also mourn this tragic and senseless loss. Let us continue to work collaboratively, not just as a school district, but as a city, to confront and address these challenges head-on. Together, we can foster a safer environment where every individual feels protected and valued."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.