SAN DIEGO —
A 15-year-old boy killed by police after pointing a BB gun at them wrote a
suicide note indicating he planned to have officers shoot him, authoritiessaid Monday.
Lt. Mike
Holden said police found the suicide note in the Torrey Pine High School
student's jacket and it indicated he planned to call police so he would be shot
and killed.
Police say
the boy called 911 at 3:27 a.m. Saturday to ask officers to check on the
welfare of an unarmed boy in front of the school.
When two
officers arrived, they spotted a youth in the front parking lot. As they got
out of their patrol cars, he pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at
an officer, police said.
The officers
drew their guns and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. But instead, he
began to walk toward an officer, ignoring the orders, police said.
The
department said in a statement that both officers feared for their safety and
fired, hitting the teen several times. They performed first aid and called
paramedics. The teen was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The gun was
found to be a "semi-automatic BB air pistol," according to police.
Investigators
determined the teen made the 911 call.
The
officers, one a 28-year veteran of the San Diego department, and the other a
four-year veteran, were wearing body cameras.
Police
didn't release the teen's name because of his age. He lived with his family in
the affluent neighborhood near the coast.
The San
Dieguito Union High School District said in a statement that it was sending a
crisis-response team to the campus Monday to support students, staff and parents.
Superintendent
Eric Dill said in a letter on the district's website that "our hearts go
out to the student, his family, and his friends."
"This
is a difficult time for the family and we need to let them mourn," Dill
said in the letter.
Dill added that
the district will strive to maintain the daily routine while offering support
to people.
In October,
police in South Los Angeles fatally shot a 16-year-old boy who pointed a fake
gun at officers. The teen had used his cellphone to call 911 to report a man
with a gun.
Police say
it turned out to be a replica with an orange tip that had been painted black.
The teen left a farewell note to his family.
_____
This story
corrects name of school district to San Dieguito Union High School District.
AP
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