NEW YORK, June 30, (AP): An officer in upstate New York fatally shot a 13-year-old who was running with a "realistic appearing firearm,” authorities said Saturday.
Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said the shooting happened Friday night after officers in the city about 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan stopped two youths a little after 10:00 p.m.
One of them ran and pointed what appeared to be a handgun at the officers, he said during a news conference at Utica City Hall. Members of the community, including the youth's family, were in attendance.
One of the officers fired a single shot at the teen "during a ground struggle,” striking him in the chest, Williams said.
The teen was given "immediate” first aid by the officers and taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.
He was identified in local media reports as Nyah Mway, a 13-year-old Karen refugee born in Myanmar and an 8th grader at Donovan Middle School, and Lt Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, confirmed the name later Saturday.
Utica, a city of more than 65,000 residents located along the Mohawk River, is home to more than 4,200 people from Myanmar, according to The Center, a nonprofit that helps to resettle the refugees.
Karens are an ethnic minority that are among the groups warring with the military rulers of the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests that sought a return to democratic rule.
Kathleen Davis, interim superintendent of the Utica City School District, offered condolences to the victim's family in a statement posted online.