The shooting Saturday afternoon came
as the nation nervously awaited a grand jury decision on whether to charge the police officer who killed African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August.
The attorney for the
family of the Cleveland youngster, who also was black, downplayed any
possible racial connotations to the shooting.
"This is not a black and white issue. This is a right and wrong issue," attorney Tim Kucharski said.
Police were summoned to
the scene outside a recreation center by a 911 caller who said someone
-- possibly a juvenile -- was pointing a gun at people.
"There's a guy in there
with a pistol, you know, it's probably fake, but he's like pointing it
at everybody," the caller said, according to audio provided by CNN affiliate WEWS.
"He's sitting on a swing
right now, but he's pulling it in and out of his pants and pointing it
at people," the caller said. "He's probably a juvenile, you know?"
When the
two officers arrived, the boy did not point the weapon at them or
otherwise threaten them, Deputy Chief Ed Tomba of the Cleveland Division
of Police told reporters early Sunday.
But he did reach for the weapon, Tomba said.
"The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands and he went into his waistband and pulled out the weapon," he said.
Tomba showed reporters
the weapon -- a large, black BB- or pellet-type replica gun resembling a
semiautomatic pistol. An orange tip indicating the gun was an air gun
had been removed, police said.
It wasn't clear if officers had been told the weapon was not a firearm, Officer Ali Pillow told CNN on Sunday.
Both officers have been placed on leave, police said.
The 12-year-old's name
has not been released by police. He died early Sunday at MetroHealth
Medical Center following surgery, according to the hospital and the
family's attorney.
People who had gathered
around the early-morning media scrum with Tomba hurled angry questions
at him, accusing police of unnecessary violence.
"It's a toy gun and a
12-year-old," a woman in the crowd yelled as reporters tried to ask
questions, according to video provided by WEWS.
While saying a thorough
and open investigation was under way, Tomba defended the officers'
actions in what he called a "very, very tragic situation."
"They were doing their job," he said.
Police shootings of
African-Americans, particularly young men, have been under rising
scrutiny in recent months following the shooting of Brown by a white
officer following a brief confrontation in Ferguson.
A grand jury is expected
to soon make a decision whether Officer Darren Wilson should face
criminal charges in that incident, which resulted in widespread protests
over police violence against African-Americans.
Source:CNN
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