12-year-old boy with toy gun shot and killed by police identified

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Cleveland, OH — The Saturday police shooting of a 12-year-old Cleveland boy holding a toy gun was captured on surveillance video, according to Cleveland police. The kid has been identified as Tamir Rice by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office. Rice was rushed to MetroHealth Medical Center and died Sunday morning.

The shooting happened at the Cudell Recreation Center at 3:30pm. Officers were responding to a report that a male was in the playground waving and pointing his gun at people. According to the 911 caller, Rice was “pulling a gun in and out of his pants and pointing it at people.” However, the callers adds, “It’s probably fake,” and also, “He’s probably a juvenile, you know?”

Police said in their first press release that they identified the suspect and told him to raise his hands. They say that Rice did not follow orders but instead reached to his waist for the gun. Police shot the 12-year-old in the torso. According to Deputy Chief Ed Tomba, police fired two shots, although it’s not clear if Rice was struck by both.

According to police, Rice had an “airsoft” gun replica which looks like a semi-automatic pistol. The two police involved in the shooting are being placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for shooting incidents involving an officer.

WEWS-TV reached out to Tamir’s mother, and her attorney says that she is considering a civil suit against the police. Police are expected to give a press conference later today. There’s no word on whether they plan to release the surveillance video.

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