--- description: Police said the markers distinguishing a fake gun from a real one had been removed title: 12-Year-Old Killed After Police Mistook Replica Gun for Real One image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 12-Year-Old Fatally Shot by Police Who Mistook Replica Gun for Real One  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:21 PM CUTPublished: Nov 23, 2014 4:00 PM CUT  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 11:21 PM CUTPublished: Nov 23, 2014 4:00 PM CUT A 12-year-old boy who was shot by police after they mistook his replica airsoft gun for a real gun [died Sunday](http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/12-year-old%5Fboy%5Fshot%5Fby%5Fclevel.html#incart%5Fm-rpt-1 "undefined"), police said. Officers responded on Saturday afternoon to a call about someone waving around a gun at a Cleveland playground, _Cleveland.com_ reports. The caller told police that gun was likely not real and that the person was “probably a juvenile,” but those comments were never relayed to the officers who responded. “There is a guy with a pistol, it’s probably fake, but he’s pointing it at everyone,” the caller says in a recording of the [911 call released by police](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/23/boy-fake-gun-shot/19438005/ "undefined"), _USA Today_ reports. Police reportedly fired two shots; the boy was hit in the torso and underwent surgery on Saturday. A hospital spokesperson confirmed Sunday that the boy had since died. The police department said in a statement that an orange marker that typically appears on toy guns to distinguish them from real guns was missing. Two police officers have been placed on [administrative leave](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/cops-shoot-boy-12-carrying-airsoft-toy-gun-cleveland-n254251 "undefined"), NBC reports. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating along with the Cleveland police. \[[_Cleveland_](http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/12-year-old%5Fboy%5Fshot%5Fby%5Fclevel.html#incart%5Fm-rpt-1 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3601348/boy-shot-by-police-toy-gun/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3601348/boy-shot-by-police-toy-gun/"},"headline":"12-Year-Old Fatally Shot by Police Who Mistook Replica Gun for Real One","datePublished":"2014-11-23T16:00:59.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T23:21:10.000Z","description":"The boy died at the hospital after officers shot him on a playground","url":"https://time.com/3601348/boy-shot-by-police-toy-gun/","keywords":["Crime","police","Guns","Cleveland"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3601348/boy-shot-by-police-toy-gun/","name":"12-Year-Old Fatally Shot by Police Who Mistook Replica Gun for Real One"}}]}] ```