[Euronews] There were just 10 seconds between US police spotting a teenager with what they thought was a rifle and opening fire on him, it's emerged.
The drama unfolded as Andy Lopez Cruz, 13, was walking in a field on his way to a friend's house in Santa Rosa, California.
Police said they called for him to drop what turned out to be a toy replica gun, before firing several rounds from their handguns. He died at the scene.
Now police investigating the shooting have revealed a timeline of events. There were 10 seconds between officers spotting the boy and opening fire and a further 16 seconds before medical assistance was called.
A post-mortem has revealed seven bullets were lodged within the boy's body.
| The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on "administrative leave". Who are they? What are their names? Why is the government and press not naming them? If I mistakenly shot a 13 year old boy my name and photo would be all over the news. |
The tragedy has reignited calls in the community for creation of civilian review boards to examine such incidents.
"People have to do something," said Elbert Howard, a founding member of the Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline of Sonoma County. "He's a child, and he had a toy. I see that as an overreaction to shoot him down."
An advisory panel of the US Civil Rights Commission urged Sonoma County to create civilian-review boards in 2000 following eight fatal officer-involved shootings in less than three years, but that recommendation went unheeded.
As many as 200 mourners gathered on Thursday around a makeshift memorial consisting of flowers, balloons, teddy bears and pictures of the boy at the site of the shooting. Some held candles and signs that said: "What a tragedy, what a travesty."
Friends and family have described the boy as a well-liked eighth-grader who played the trumpet and basketball and had a good sense of humour.
| I believe this ran previously. An external perspective on our out of control Police State. |
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