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NYPD: Officer fatally shot teen who fired gun at fleeing person

Posted at 10:17 PM, Aug 04, 2013
and last updated 2013-08-04 22:17:50-04

(CNN) — A 14-year-old boy who allegedly fired a gun at another fleeing male on a New York street early Sunday morning was shot and killed by a uniformed police officer, according to the New York City Police Department.

The teen, identified as Shaaliver Douse, was pronounced dead at the scene, the department said in a news release. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to the release.

Around 3 a.m. Sunday, two uniformed officers heard gunshots and proceeded east down a Bronx street, where “a male was running westbound in the middle of the street, pursued by another male armed with 9mm handgun,” the release states. The area is designated an “impact” neighborhood, which means it has high crime rates and is flooded with police officers to reduce that crime.

“Ordered to ‘drop the gun’ by the uniformed officers who identified themselves as police, the male with the gun still in his hand did not comply,” according to the news release.

“One of the officers discharged one round from his service weapon, striking the armed male in the lower left jaw,” the release stated.

A black 9mm semi-automatic firearm was recovered at the scene.

The two officers, ages 26 and 27, were sent to a local hospital to be treated for tinnitus and trauma. They joined the NYPD in January, the release said.

A man who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred told CNN affiliate New York 1 that his son alerted him to the shooting early Sunday morning.

Anthony Riverecio, who has lived in the Bronx for 68 years, told NY1, “You can’t walk this avenue …It’s always constantly stabbing or shooting. They have been killing around here like crazy.”

“I respect them … cops are doing a good job. There’s too many guns out here,” Riverecio said.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly showed two surveillance videos of the incident at a news conference Sunday night.

One of them shows Douse holding a gun and chasing after another person, who has not been identified.

Kelly said: “It’s very troubling, and obviously there are way too many guns on the streets of our city. Regardless of the circumstances, this is a crushing blow to any parent.”

He added that most of the guns police recover are from out of state.

“Most likely, this gun has been purchased from out of state or somehow was obtained from out of state, was stolen and brought to New York City.”

The gun was manufactured in Spain, Kelly said Sunday.