Boy, 16, shot dead after aiming toy gun at Maryland State Police trooper
A Maryland State Police trooper shot a 16-year-old boy dead after the teenager aimed what investigators later learned was a toy gun at the officer before pulling a knife on him, police said.
Police on Wednesday were investigating the shooting, which occurred a day earlier at about 1:30 p.m. in Leonardtown in southern Maryland.
“There are many questions we do not have the answers to at this point,” Supt. Woodrow Jones said.
The trooper was responding to two 911 emergency calls about “a guy acting suspicious” and possibly armed with a gun in a residential neighbourhood.
He arrived to find the teen in a driveway “in a shooting stance, pointing a gun at the trooper,” Jones said.
The trooper fired and wounded the boy. The teen, identified as Peyton Ham, 16, who lived a few houses away, then pulled a knife, Jones said.
“The trooper ordered him to drop the knife before he fired again,” Jones said.
Investigators determined the teen was carrying an airsoft gun, a toy that is a close copy of an actual weapon and used to shoot BBs. The trooper was placed on leave.