Upstate New York teenager shot dead by police after allegedly brandishing air pistol

There is outrage in a town in upstate New York after a 13-year-old boy was shot dead during an altercation with police after allegedly brandishing an air gun, police said.

Nyah Mway was shot and killed by a Utica police officer around 10:20 p.m. Friday night after police stopped him and another minor as they walked down the street, police said.

A video circulating on social media shows three police officers chasing the boy through a dark street and one of them throwing him to the ground. The other two police officers intervene in the fight while passers-by shout at the police officers.

A woman is heard screaming: “Careful, careful, yo, careful. You’re in the picture.”

Suddenly a shot rings out.

“Oh my God! Yo! He just shot him!” shouts a shocked witness.

At the emotional press conference on Saturday, community members expressed their anger and demanded justice. Some people fell over themselves as local officials addressed them.

The press conference was originally intended for media only, but when officials saw the large crowd gathered outside City Hall – including 50 of Mway’s family members – they decided to allow the public to attend, according to Syracuse.com.

One person held a sign that read, “Our parents didn’t flee the war so their children could be shot by police,” Syracuse.com reported.

According to the news agency, Mway’s heartbroken mother was present and burst into tears as the officials’ remarks were translated into her native Burmese.

“There are a lot of emotions in this room,” Utica Police Chief Mark Williams once said.

“But you are demanding transparency from us, and if you shout down our throats, it will be very difficult.”

Mway, an Asian man, showed what looked like a gun as he fled from police, Williams said Saturday.

Officers forced the teenager to the ground and fired one shot “during a ground struggle,” the police chief said.

The boy was shot in the chest and died of his injuries at Wynn Hospital in Utica, police said.

According to police, a replica Glock air rifle with a detachable magazine was seized.

Utica Mayor Michael Galime said that although the police stop was a routine measure, it “turned into a tragedy in a matter of moments.”

“I cannot put into words that this point cannot change what has changed forever since last night,” Galime said.

“Our condolences go out to the families, the community and all of Utica and the surrounding areas for what happened during this event.”

After the press conference, Galime approached the boy’s mother and explained to her that the bodycam footage would be released.

As they spoke, a man in the background shouted that the officers should be charged with first-degree murder, according to Syracuse.com.

Another person in the crowd shouted that the congregation members had fled “persecution by the Burmese army.”

According to the outlet, there is a large Burmese population in Utica.

The public prosecutor’s office will investigate the shooting, the mayor said.

The case is also being investigated internally by the Utica Police Department.

“This is a tragic and traumatic incident for everyone involved,” said Chief Williams.

The three officers involved were placed on paid leave.

Their names would be published “shortly,” he said.

Police confirmed they were aware of the online video of the shooting, but said in a statement that it “does not show the incident in its entirety.”