Hundreds of people took to the streets in protest Wednesday night in northern California after police shot and killed a 13-year-old boy carrying a toy rifle. Andy Lopez was shot and killed by police on Tuesday night when two officers mistakenly believed the boy's toy gun was an assault rifle. Lopez was walking with his back to the officers who claim they could not tell how young the boy was. When the officers called to get Lopez's attention he turned with the barrel of the toy pointed at the police.
Believing their lives to be in danger, one of the officers opened fire on the teenager. The officer fired several rounds at Lopez hitting him at least once. Andy Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene. Ajc.com reports that police Lt. Paul Henry described the incident by saying, "the deputy then fired several rounds from his service weapon at the subject striking him at least one time. The subject immediately fell to the ground." An investigation into what happened between Lopez and the police is underway.
A neighbor who claims to have witnessed the incident told ajc.com that the official report is wrong and the he witnessed a different series of events. Ethan Oliver lives in a house across the street from where the shooting took place. Oliver said that the police continued to fire at Lopez after the 13-year-old hit the ground. "Then the cops went at it again and unloaded like six to seven shots," Oliver said to ajc.com. Neighbors are disappointed in the police and their inability to tell the difference between real and toy guns.
Christina Avila, a neighbor who also lives in the area where Lopez was shot told ajc.com, "They kind of look the same," referring to a toy gun versus a real gun. "But at the same time if you're law enforcement your job is to know what's real and what's fake." Reports are suggesting that the two officers did not realize the AK-47 was a fake until Lopez was dead on the ground. The boy is also reported to have had two fake handguns tucked into his wristbands.
Lopez was identified by his father, Rodrigo Lopez who said the toy guns belonged to his son's friend. The Press Democrat is reporting that the names of the two officers have not been released but the officers have been placed on administrative leave. Rodrigo Lopez told the Press Democrat that the last time he saw his son was Tuesday morning before leaving for work. Speaking with the news outlet in Spanish Lopez said, "I told him what I tell him every day. Behave yourself."
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