APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (AP) – A 15-year-old California boy was shot and killed when he charged at sheriff’s deputies armed with a sharpened garden tool and responded to a report of an assault in progress at a residence. announced the authorities.
The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon in Apple Valley, a Mojave Desert city northeast of Los Angeles.
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The family said in a 911 call that the boy “aggressively assaulted the family and damaged property in the residence,” according to a statement from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office.
Although the department’s statement did not mention mental illness as a factor, another statement from Sheriff Shannon Dicas suggested it was a factor.
A teenage boy was shot and killed by police in San Bernardino County, California. (Fox News)
“Social safety nets for people suffering from mental illness need to be strengthened,” Dicas said.
“The suspect’s mental and medical history is part of an ongoing investigation. No information is available,” said public information officer Mara Rodriguez.
In a recording of a chaotic 911 call, the caller said his 15-year-old brother was assaulting his sister. At one point, the caller said a young man had broken a window and was holding glass.
Body camera footage released by the department shows the first deputy approaching the home’s open front door when a young man appears and lunges at him. Police said the man was carrying a gardening tool about 5 feet (1.5 meters) long with a “sharp edged end.”
The deputy pointed his gun, backpedaled, and yelled, “Hey! Get back! You’re going to get shot! Get back!”
A second video taken from another deputy’s body camera shows the deputy running away at gunpoint, with the boy close behind brandishing a tool.
The young man’s face is blurred in the video, and the actual shooting is not shown. The department did not say whether one or both of the lawmakers had been fired.
According to the department, members provided medical aid until paramedics arrived, but he later died at the hospital.
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The sheriff’s office expressed sympathy for the boy’s family in a statement and said that deputies respond to “seemingly insurmountable calls every day,” most of which do not result in violence. The ministry has not disclosed the status of the members.
“Rapidly evolving violent encounters are some of the most difficult, requiring split-second decisions,” he said. “While these decisions are legal, they are terrible from the perspective of our humanity.”
