In a tragic incident, police officers in New York City fatally shot a 13-year-old boy who they had asked to pat down shortly before he ran off and allegedly flashed a pellet gun at them.
Bodycam footage released by Utica Police showed the moments that led to the death of Nyah Mway, 13, who was stopped alongside a friend on Friday as part of a police investigation into a recent string of armed robberies in the area, per the New York Post.
In footage obtained by the Rome Sentinel, Officer Bryce Patterson can be heard asking the 13-year-old, “Can I just pat you down to make sure you’ve got no weapons on you?”
Mway responded to Patterson and eventually raised his hands before fleeing the scene, leading the three law enforcement officers to chase him down.
The footage then shows Mway reaching for what looked like a handgun before pointing “the weapon directly at Officer Patterson and the other officers,” law enforcement said.
As a result, Patterson tackles Mway to the ground. Moments later, Officer Patrick Husnay fired a fatal shot at the 13-year-old.
Husnay had shouted, “Drop it! Drop it!” as he moved toward Patterson and Mway on the ground.
After the shot, Patterson tried to medically attend to Mway, telling his colleagues, “I don’t know if he shot me.”
The officers then proceeded to call for backup and an ambulance. Officer Andrew J. Citriniti is heard in footage telling neighbors who were watching about the incident, shouting, “Back up, back up.”
Surveillance footage also shows witnesses screaming throughout the incident, with one individual exclaiming, “Oh my God! Yo! He just shot him!”
Mway was shot in the chest and later succumbed to his wounds at Wynn Hospital in Utica, according to officers.
The chaotic event is being investigated by the New York State Attorney General’s Office to determine whether the shooting was justified.
Shortly after the shooting, it was determined that the weapon Mway was carrying was fake.
The New York Post pointed out that Mway is Asian and a member of the Karen community, which is an ethnic group from Burma.
Following the tragic incident, authorities said they stopped the teens because they were trying to look for suspects in recent robberies across the area.
The suspects were described as “Asian males who brandished a black in color firearm and forcibly demanded and sole property from victims.”
In one of the armed robberies, one of the suspects was walking while the other was traveling on a bicycle, similar to Mway and his friend.
The three officers involved have been put on administrative leave.
Patterson has served in the Utica Police Department for four years, while Citriniti joined just under 3 years ago, after previously serving with the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Rome Sentinel.
Members of the community expressed outrage at what took place, with some demanding justice at a press conference on Saturday that was attended by approximately 50 of Mway’s family members.
Mway’s mother broke down in tears during her remarks and shouted.
