California police shot an armed 13-year-old boy during a confrontation in a cemetery Thursday, Fox News reported.
San Bernardino police officers were sent to Pioneer Memorial Cemetery around 1:50 p.m. after the boy called 911 to report that he had killed three people, according to Fox News. The claim was later investigated and deemed untrue.
The boy allegedly told dispatchers, referring to police: “If they don’t kill me, I’ll have to kill them,” Fox News reported. The boy was armed with a handgun that was loaded with an extended magazine and fired several shots, according to police.
There were bystanders at the scene, but none were injured because police officers took position around the cemetery to protect those nearby, police said, Fox News reported. The boy wouldn’t drop the gun and was shot when he pointed his weapon at an officer.
“They prepared to make verbal contact with the suspect and negotiate his surrender,” police said. “As the officers were doing this, the suspect fired an additional shot from the gun.”
The boy might have been attempting suicide by cop, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
No officers were injured and the boy was taken to a hospital to be treated, Fox News reported. His condition as well as the number of shots fired by police has not been revealed.
In the shooting’s aftermath, detectives found two handguns, four additional magazines, and a large amount of stored ammunition, which authorities speculated meant the boy “was prepared for a prolonged confrontation,” Fox News reported.
