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After a fit of anger, US police shoot 13-year-old boys
| Reading time: 2 minutes
There are repeated protests against police violence in the US.
Source: AFP / APU GOMES
A mother calls 911 because her autistic son has had a tantrum. When the police arrive, the boy runs away, then one of the officers draws his gun and shoots.
rePolice in Salt Lake City, USA, face harsh criticism after shooting a mentally unstable 13-year-old boy. As reported by the US media, the boy was wounded by bullets in the shoulder, ankle, intestines and bladder. According to her mother, the teenager with separation anxiety had a tantrum when she had to return to work for the first time after a year off. Then she dialed the emergency number.
The mother, who lives in Salt Lake City, told local broadcaster KUTV that she asked for help so they could get her son to the hospital. She told police officers who arrived that her son was unarmed and was “trying to get attention” with his tantrum. The boy ran away from the police, then one of them shot him.
A police spokesman confirmed that the policeman shot the injured boy. The boy was suspected of “threatening some people with a gun,” the spokesman said. At the same time, however, he admitted that no weapon had been found at the scene of the incident.
The case commemorates the death of African American Daniel Prude after a police operation in Rochester, New York state. A police officer pressed the naked and unarmed man with his head to the ground. The 41-year-old fainted and died in hospital a week later. Following outrage over the operation, the city’s chief of police resigned. Prude also suffered from mental health problems. However, unlike him, the 13-year-old is white.
Cases of excessive police violence have sparked nationwide protests and a debate about police use methods in the United States in recent months. However, the protests mainly concern police violence against African Americans.
