13-Year-Old Boy With BB Gun Killed by Police in Columbus

COLUMBUS, OH — Thirteen-year-old Tyree King was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after he was shot by Columbus Police officers responding to an armed robbery call Wednesday night, police said in a statement. Detectives later determined King's weapon to be a BB gun.

According to a statement, officers were dispatched to a call at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday that a man had been approached by a group in the area of South 18th Street and East Capital Street demanding money and one of them had a gun.

Officers observed three males matching the descriptions in front of a building in the unit block of Hoffman Street and attempted to speak with them, when two of the suspects fled on foot. Officers followed the suspects to an alley in the rear of the same block and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, according to the statement.

One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times, police said. The suspect was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead at approximately 8:22 pm. The suspect was later identified as 13-year-old Tyree King, according to the statement.

The officers and other suspect were not injured.

Crime Scene Search Unit detectives later determined King's weapon to be a BB gun with an attached laser sight, according to the statement. The gun was recovered and transported to the Columbus Police Property Room.

Chris Naderer, of Hoffman Avenue, told the Columbus Dispatch that he heard someone knock down a gate in his backyard. When he looked outside, he saw a police officer chasing two young men into an alley behind his home. He said he heard three to five gunshots from the alley.

The suspect that was with King was questioned and released pending further investigation. The name of the other suspect and the officer that shot King has not been released.

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