Police: 14-year-old carrying airsoft gun shot in leg by officer
Police briefing on 14-year-old shot by police after pointing an Airsoft gun at the officer. WTLV
Jacob Rodriguez, First Coast News6:53 p.m. EST December 12, 2015
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 14-year-old carrying an Airsoft gun was shot by a police officer late Friday night in northern Jacksonville, authorities said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office was called to the Maple Crest Townhomes off Harts Road twice late Friday night after a woman said a teenager was shooting a BB gun at her window.
Tom Hackney, Director of Investigations, spoke to the media after the shooting and said that the first time officers went to the woman's home, they found nothing.
Nearly an hour later, two-year veteran officer Josh Livinggood showed up at her door after another call, Hackney said.
The woman who called police said that she could hear 'tinging' off her windows and doors. She told police she was scared at first that someone was shooting at her house, but looked around and learned it was a teenager with a BB gun.
14-year-old shot in officer-involved shooting
Livinggood walked through the home with the woman to investigate if any pellets had gone through the windows, but didn't find anything. As he was leaving, and while the woman walked the officer out of her home, she spotted a teenager walking in front of her house, Hackney said.
She reportedly told the officer that teen was the one shooting at her house.
Livinggood then allegedly asked the 14-year-old to approach him and show the officer his hands.
A teen was shot by an officer at Maple Crest Townhomes in north Jacksonville Friday night, police said. (Photo: First Coast News)
As the pair approached one another, the teen suddenly reached into his waist for a replica 50-caliber pistol that Hackney described as looking like a Desert Eagle. While it had the orange tip of an Airsoft gun, Hackney explained that the officer had to think quickly.
Not knowing if it was a real gun or not, the officer then shot at the teen six times and hit him once in the leg near the knee, JSO said.
"To say that six [shots] is too many – it's too many, it's not too many – the idea is to go home at the end of your shift," Hackney said.
When Livinggood approached the teen after shooting him, the unnamed subject was reaching for the fake gun, but Livinggood was able to kick it away, Hackney said.
According to JSO, police have had upwards of 8 interactions with the teen, all for mental illness-related issues.
Livinggood has been placed on administrative leave. The State Attorney's Office and JSO are investigating the shooting. All three things are standard procedure when an officer shoots a citizen, Hackney said.
Another update is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday Stay with First Coast News for updates.
Another Tamir Rice? Really? Tamir got rolled up on and shot fukking dead with not a word spoken.
