Police fatally shoot upstate New York boy who had replica gun, officials say

UTICA, N.Y. — Officials say an upstate New York police officer shot and killed a 13-year-old boy Friday night after the teen allegedly fled from police with a realistic gun in his hand.

The shooting took place in Utica, a city of about 65,000 in the Mohawk Valley. At a news conference Saturday, Police Chief Mark Williams said officers arrested two young pedestrians around 10:18 p.m. “as part of a police investigation,” and that one of them they had fled.

Williams said that when the teen ran from police, he “displayed what appeared to be a handgun.” This sparked a number of protests from families and community members in attendance, and officials interrupted the news conference for a short time to ask the crowd to be quiet.

When operations resumed, Williams said one of the officers fired a single shot at the teen “during a struggle on the ground” and struck him in the chest, Williams said. He received “immediate” first aid from officers and was taken to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.

The teenager was identified as Nyah Mway, an eighth-grader who arrived in the United States as a refugee from Myanmar.

Williams declined to provide more details about what prompted the stop or preceded the shooting, saying that will be part of the investigation. Officers recovered a replica GLOCK 17 Gen 5 pistol with a detachable magazine at the scene that turned out to be a pellet gun, he added.

The names of the officers involved have not yet been released.

Kathleen Davis, interim superintendent of the Utica City School District, offered her condolences to the victim’s family in a statement posted online.

Davis expressed his “deep sadness” over this “tragic and senseless loss” and also offered his support to “our law enforcement partners, who work tirelessly to keep our streets safe.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.