Cop Shoots 13-Year-Old Driver Dead After Boy Accidentally Crashed Into Patrol Vehicle

A 13-year-old boy from San Antonio, Texas was shot and killed by a police officer on Friday after the boy reportedly crashed their car into a police vehicle behind him, causing an officer in one of the cars to fire his gun at him.

The young boy, who has yet to be named by police officers, was driving a red car that police claim was reportedly stolen and potentially involved in a different shooting itself. The boy also had two other companions with him, all under the age of 18, according to the New York Daily News.

After the young boy realized that the car in front of him was a police vehicle, he put the red car he had on reverse in an attempt to escape, accidentally hitting a different police car that was waiting behind him, NBC News reported.

“He reverses and tries to go back in the other direction. He doesn't know that there's a police car that is behind him,” San Antonio Police Captain Jesse Salame said. “And when he sees the other police car behind him, it looks like he veers in and crashes into that (police) car purposely on the driver's side.”

In a panic, one of the officers in the car, believed to be the first patrol car that was not T-boned by the reported stolen vehicle, drew his firearm and shot the 13-year-old driver once in the abdomen. It is unclear if the officer, who remains unidentified, thought that the 13-year-old had another weapon in his car.

“He thought the other officer was going to be struck (again),” Salame said.

The boy was fatally wounded immediately, and he was transported to a nearby hospital where the doctors attempted to save his life through surgery. No one else was injured on either side of the encounter, My San Antonio reported.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said that the officer who shot the boy has been placed on administrative leave while the body-cam footage is reviewed by the precinct to figure out their next statements or actions related to the killing.

The two other minors in the car were taken into custody.