Sonoma County

Santa Rosa Police Fire ‘Several Rounds' at 15-Year-Old Suicidal Boy Holding Replica Gun

Santa Rosa police fired “several rounds” at a 15-year-old boy who they said was suicidal and was pointing a replica handgun at officers at Coffey Park.

Lt. Michael Lazzarini said the boy was taken to the hospital and will be psychologically evaluated. His father was notified and is helping police. He was shot in the foot.

Lazzarini said about 11:36 p.m. Monday, police received a 911 call of a man with a gun at Coffey Park in the northwestern part of the city.

When two officers arrived on scene at 11:43 a.m., Lazzarini said, they realized the suspect was a teen they described as suicidal, who got down on the ground, and then stood up, pointing his toy gun at police.

That officer fired several rounds at the boy, who immediately fell to the ground. Lazzarini said the shooting took place within a minute of the officers arriving on scene. Only one officer fired his weapon.

The teen had a suicide note and told investigators he intended to commit suicide by having an officer shoot him.Investigators learned he was the person who called police, and the handgun he had was later determined to be a replica firearm, Lazzarini said.

"There's no markings on it to indicate it's a toy," Lazzarini said of the replica firearm.

Police have not released the names of the two male officers, who were placed on paid administrative leave. The officers' body-worn cameras recorded the shooting, but the video will not be made public, Lazzarini said.

The officers' names will be released if investigators decide it isreasonable to do so, according to Lazzarini.

Lazzarini declined to offer a department comment regarding the shooting, other than stating the facts provided.

In October 2013, 13-year-old Andy Lopez was shot and killed by Sonoma County sheriff's deputy Erick Gelhaus, when he was walking in a vacant lot about 20 minutes away from Coffey Park, carrying an airsoft gun that was designed to resemble an AK-47 assault rifle.

NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez and Bay City News contributed to this report.

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