- 34,949
- Indian Falls, NY
- slashfan7964
Boy Shot Dead by Police for Holding Toy Gun
- Thread starter Slash
- 131 comments
- 7,114 views
- 149
- Southeast
- Vantage7825
Sickening...
- 35,422
- Downtown North Dakota
- Cy-Fi
So you're saying that if you saw someone holding this:
after telling them to drop it and they don't that you wouldn't shoot? I call BS.
A thousand times this.
While anyone being shot by the police is tragic, it could have easily been avoided by 1) not carrying around a realistic replica AND a handgun and 2) dropping it/them when asked to.
- 13,907
- Adelaide
- Neomone
The title of this thread does not accurately represent what seems to have happened.
Holding toy gun, no problem.
Holding toy gun that is indistinguishable from a real gun at any reasonable distance, no real problem.
Refusing to drop your "weapon" when confronted by armed police officers asking you to do so?
I also suspect that there was at least warning shots fired, because it's a hard man that shoots a kid without trying everything possible not to.
Unless I hear otherwise, I suspect the kid had a hard-on for disobeying authority and didn't stop to consider what action a policeman would be forced to take when faced with someone "armed" with an assault rifle and not responding to instructions.
I feel sorry for the cop who shot him.
Holding toy gun, no problem.
Holding toy gun that is indistinguishable from a real gun at any reasonable distance, no real problem.
Refusing to drop your "weapon" when confronted by armed police officers asking you to do so?
I also suspect that there was at least warning shots fired, because it's a hard man that shoots a kid without trying everything possible not to.
Unless I hear otherwise, I suspect the kid had a hard-on for disobeying authority and didn't stop to consider what action a policeman would be forced to take when faced with someone "armed" with an assault rifle and not responding to instructions.
I feel sorry for the cop who shot him.
- 11,985
- Australia
- I_Grayson_Fox_I
Not saying they are less deadly.
Most people know kids play with toys guns so it could be real could be fake.
The police could have hid behind their vehicles for cover like they normally do when someone has a gun pointed at them and called for backup.
The news article says the kids was walking with the gun, not pointing it at the police which is the sign of threatening behavior.
Most people know kids play with toys guns so it could be real could be fake.
The police could have hid behind their vehicles for cover like they normally do when someone has a gun pointed at them and called for backup.
The news article says the kids was walking with the gun, not pointing it at the police which is the sign of threatening behavior.
Downhill Dino
Premium
- 11,754
- Maryland
- DownhillDinosaur
Would you rather the kids threaten a cop's life with a possible real gun? Take no chances.
David
Premium
- 2,732
Except for when just the other day a 12 year old had a real gun and killed his teacher. You don't know, so you always assume it's real.
That's not what they normally do. In real life, rifle rounds aren't magically stopped by the thin metal, plastic, and glass we make cars out of. You don't take chances. When someone has a gun in the face of the police and refuses to comply they don't just wait for backup unless it's some barricade situation where they aren't in immediate danger. Doesn't really matter where it's pointed, and proper escalation of force says you don't use less than lethal against (as far as you know) lethal force. The gun is either dropped or the person holding it is.
I have no problems with toy guns, but walking around outside with something that looks like that and doesn't at least have some orange paint at the end of the barrel is asking for trouble. Ignoring the police though is the really dumb part.
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Mini Stiggy
Premium
- 4,202
- Grove City, Ohio
- I__like_oranges
Sorry if this seems kinda harsh but, if your carrying around something that looks like an assault rifle, and refusing to comply with the police who are aimed right at you, I'd like to know what was going through that kids mind. If I was him, I'd be doing whatever the heck they tell me to do.
- 5,230
- Buckeye Nation
Not knowing if it's real or fake, who's going to be the bold one to step up to plate and approach a kid holding an AK47 ? No-one in their right frame of mind, that's who. One simply does not take chances like this.
He was told to drop the gun. He did not, so the police dropped him. This, especially following the school shooting of a teacher one day earlier. Can't blame the cops at all.
A 13 year old kid walking around with an AK47 is not an alarming sight ? Does not matter where the hell it was pointed or if it was real or fake. The fact still remains.
- 35,422
- Downtown North Dakota
- Cy-Fi
- 13
- Alabama
- JabLab14
I gotta agree with itty, what was that kid thinking?
Joel
Premium
- 8,141
- Halifax, NS
- Noob616
I really just don't think you understand guns and their capabilities to be honest. You don't screw around with what looks to be a gun, much less an AK-47. A car door isn't going to do anything to stop one of those rounds.
It's always horrible to see a kid get shot like this but there was nothing the police could have done. They had no way of knowing that it was a toy, and with a real gun it only takes a fraction of a second for "not pointing it at the police" to turn into "two police officers shot and killed".
- 11,660
- GTP_Orido
A warning shot or a shot in the leg would have been better 
- 4,543
- Bay Area, CA
- Zenith113
This, mostly. The officers obviously had their discretion to rely on, but if it was my life I would be very hesitant to give an unresponsive teen carrying a semiautomatic rifle the full gently-approach-and-attempt-to-disarm treatment.
Let's also try to keep the speculation down. The news article is by no means an accurate representation of events. Maybe the teen was just walking around, maybe he pointed the toy gun at the police officers. We will likely never know the exact circumstances that led to his death.
A warning shot or a shot in the leg would have been better
Too many movies for you...
- 11,660
- GTP_Orido
Scaff
Moderator
- 29,729
- He/Him
- ScaffUK
See the holes....
Source - http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=4&f=64&t=124551
...those are 7.62 exits. The only place in which cars stop assault rifle rounds is TV and films, in reality a car will not stop them at all.
A warning shot or a shot in the leg would have been better
Because a round fired off to the ground will not ricochet and a round fired into the air just magically disappears. Warning shops are uncontrolled fire and dangerous. A verbal warning is all that is required, and as far as we know exactly what was given.
As for a shot to the leg, have you ever tried shooting a leg on a moving target? You aim for the largest area (which is most effective and once again reduces the change of loose rounds in a public area), not to mention that an injured person with an assault rifle will of course never then start to fire wildly in panic and retaliation (while now being prone and that much harder to hit), oh wait.
When people with guns pointed at you tell you to put down what you are carrying and get on the ground you do it, doesn't matter if its a toy gun or a sandwich you do it. Failure to do so leads to rather obvious consequences.
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- 11,660
- GTP_Orido
I would still shoot the leg, I'll take the risk rather than taking cover or a shot in the head or chest.
- 23,800
- Philippines
Either you're a marksman with a sniper rifle hidden in the bushes shooting at an immobile target, or you've never had any weapons training in your life.
A leg is a moving, erratic, difficult target to hit. And shooting one will NOT prevent an armed assailant from firing back.
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A 9mm bullet from a handgun hits with less force than a good punch. It won't knock you over, and it won't stop you firing back. The only way to stop someone with a handgun bullet is to shoot them through a vital organ. Period.
A 7.62 from an AK47, on the other hand, will go through a car door, the seats and the other door. It can still potentially kill you, even after travelling through the engine block. If you have a suspect carrying one of those, you don't give them a chance to discharge it against you or the civilians you're sworn to protect.
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As for other non-lethal suggestions:
A taser doesn't have the range of a rifle. And it won't stop spasming muscles from pulling a trigger, either.
A rubber shotgun shell does have knockdown and stopping power, but it still won't prevent an armed assailant from discharging their weapon.
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- 11,660
- GTP_Orido
Still will do it 
if the kid fired back, then he's got a real rifle, and I will fire some more until I hit him, if he dropped the gun, job done. This is if I was the cop
if the kid fired back, then he's got a real rifle, and I will fire some more until I hit him, if he dropped the gun, job done. This is if I was the cop Similar threads
