An Arizona police officer pursues, shoots, kills a 14-year-old boy who had an airsoft gun, not a real

Tempe, Az. – The Tempe Police Department announced Wednesday that a "man" shot dead by an officer and later deceased in a hospital was a 14-year-old boy, reports the subsidiary of CBS Phoenix KPHO- TV.

The police also stated that he possessed a replica of an airsoft gun, and not a real handgun.

Police said that the officer was pursuing the teenager on Tuesday afternoon and that at one point, he had returned.

"This is unfortunately a situation in which the officer will have to live forever.They will have problems with them now that they know it's not a real firearm." However, they follow exactly the instructions they are supposed to follow as part of their training with the police service, "said Kevin Boontjer, a retired police sergeant.

The teenager was later found in an alley and taken to the hospital.

The police stated that it all started when they received a call for a suspicious vehicle just after 2:30 pm and the officer who arrived found the teenager robbing the vehicle.

The teenager then exited the vehicle and escaped with the airsoft gun and other objects.

During the prosecution, the officer perceived a threat and shot at the teenager.

Police said that the incident had been recorded on the camera of the officer's body.

"This does not really change the dynamics of the event from the officer's point of view, unfortunately.It is impossible to lead anyone to what constitutes a real weapon Boontjer explained

According to Boontjer, airsoft weapons usually have an orange tip that indicates they are not real guns, but he said some people remove the orange tip, or it can be difficult for an officer to see during a pursuit.

"Let's say the gun had the orange tip on it. You run, your vision buzzes, you can not keep a normal vision while you run, and you try, again, to evaluate a hundred different pieces of information running, "Boontjer explained. "And when we train these officers to these deadly situations, we can not teach them to look at something as microscopic as a bouncing orange dot, who could face them while the suspect is in." flee. "

Police said the officer ordered the teenager to stop.

" I imagine that when it started, the officer said "stop or "do not run" or something and unfortunately, if the suspect stopped and followed orders that the officer gave to that person, the result would probably be very different, "said Boontjer.

An investigation was in progress.