Authorities say 13-year-old armed with replica handgun fatally shot by police after chase in upstate New York

Police Friday night time fatally shot a 13-year-old boy following a foot chase in a residential neighborhood in the upstate New York metropolis of Utica after the teenager displayed what seemed to be a gun, authorities said. Police later decided the teenager was carrying a replica handgun. 

Three officers stopped the 2 youngsters at round 10 p.m. native time Friday as a part of an investigation into a number of latest robberies, Utica police stated in a information launch Saturday night time. While the authorities have been questioning the kids, one in every of them fled on foot, police stated. 

As the sufferer ran, police noticed what “appeared to be a handgun,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams stated in a Saturday morning information convention, throughout which he was ceaselessly interrupted by outraged neighborhood members. One of the officers fired his gun and struck the teenager, described as an Asian male. 

“A Utica police officer ultimately discharged his firearm once, striking the male, during a ground struggle,” Williams stated.        

The teen, recognized as 13-year-old Nyah Mway, was given fast first assist by officers on scene and was dropped at Wynn Hospital, the place he died from his wounds, Williams stated. 

Following the capturing, in keeping with Williams, officers recovered a pellet gun resembling a Glock 17 handgun with a removable journal. 

“This replica handgun was ultimately found to be a pellet gun,” Williams disclosed.

The officer who fatally shot Mway was recognized as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the division. Two different officers, Bryce Patterson and Andrew Citriniti, have been additionally concerned in the incident, police stated.

In their launch Saturday night time, police stated that the three officers have been patrolling the realm in response to not less than two latest robberies “in which the suspects were described as Asian males who brandished a black in color firearm and forcibly demanded and stole property from victims” — the newest of which had occurred Thursday.

The three officers approached the 2 teenagers as a result of “they matched the robbery suspects’ descriptions and were in the immediate vicinity of the previous robbery at nearly the same time of day,” police stated.  

Police Saturday night time additionally launched a number of minutes of footage from the physique cameras of all three officers, alongside with a photograph of the replica handgun which was recovered.

In the footage, the teenager recognized by police as Mway takes off operating from the scene virtually instantly after being stopped by the officers. While operating, he seems to briefly level what police say was the replica gun on the pursuing officers.

Within about 15 to twenty seconds of when the foot chase began, the footage exhibits Patterson deal with Mway on a sidewalk, and whereas the 2 wrestle on the bottom, Husnay approaches them and fires a single shot. 

Separate cellular phone video of the incident captured by a neighbor has been obtained by CBS News. Regarding that video, police stated in a press release that it was “aware of a video of the incident circulating on social media platforms, which does not portray the incident in its entirety.”

The New York lawyer common’s workplace additionally introduced Saturday night time that it has opened an investigation into the capturing. 

Utica police stated it’s conducting its personal investigation. All three officers concerned have been positioned on paid administrative go away.

An interpreter was on the contentious information convention to translate for the sufferer’s household and neighborhood members. At one level, Utica Mayor Michael Galime took the microphone, calling for calm. 

“We understand the weight of this situation and want to ensure that every single piece of this is understood,” Galime stated.    

The ethnicity of the sufferer’s household has not been supplied, however Utica has resettled massive numbers of refugees in latest years.  According to the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, one of many largest numbers of Asian refugees Utica has resettled are from Burma, together with from the Karen ethnic group, in addition to different teams. Other Asian refugees embody Vietnamese, Thai, Cambodians alongside with Bosnians, Dominicans and extra, the middle stated. Just over 19% of the as soon as quickly declining industrial metropolis is now foreign-born, the middle stated. 

“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,”  Utica City School District interim superintendent Dr. Kathleen Davis stated in a press release Saturday.

Utica, a city of about 65,000, is situated roughly an hour’s drive from Syracuse.