12-Year-Old Boy Shot Dead After Allegedly Shooting At Philadelphia Police Officers
A 12-year-old boy was shot and killed by a Philadelphia police officer on Tuesday after allegedly shooting at them first.
Thomas Siderio, 12, was shot at around 7:20 p.m . when police spotted him and another 17-year-old teen who appeared to be holding a gun, police reported. The officers said that when they drove towards them and turned the sirens on, and this is when the shots were then fired at police.
"At that point, they heard gunfire and glass shattering from the rear passenger window," according to police.
Although Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Naish, who oversees investigations, said during a virtual briefing Wednesday that authorities can’t definitively say Thomas fired the shot, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
"I can't be definitive about exactly everything at this point, but I can be definitive that a shot was fired into the police vehicle and a gun was recovered," Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Ben Naish said.
After shots were fired at police, they shot back at Siderio as he was running away. He was hit with a bullet in his back.
Siderio was taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital where he was declared dead only minutes after the shooting. The one officer was also taken to the hospital for getting hit with shards of glass, but it is now released.
The gun that Siderio allegedly used was a Taurus, 9MM, semi-automatic handgun that is reported to be stolen and was seized at the scene.
The shooting incident is under investigation and the four officers involved are on administrative leave.
“The life of a young man was cut tragically short, and we should all be questioning how we as a society have failed him and so many other young people like him,” Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said in a Wednesday statement.
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