Undercover New York police kill Brooklyn teenager
New York City Police cars are parked on the street in Times Square on October 25, 2011 in New York City.
Police shot and killed a 16-year-old boy in Brooklyn late Saturday. The New York Police Department claims that the victim, Kimani Gray, pointed a gun at the officers, DNAinfo reported.
But the shooting is controversial because the officers were actually undercover, dressed in plainclothes. According to the New York Times, it is not clear whether the officers identified themselves as police before the teen drew his weapon.
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The police, from the Brooklyn South Anti-Crime Patrol, say they were walking on Saturday night when they noticed a group of young men standing in front of a home. When the officers approached the group, they say Kimani ran away, the Associated Press reported. They say that he then pointed a gun at the officers and that a .38-caliber rifle was recovered at the scene of his death.
But a witness told NBC 4 New York that he didn't hear the officers identify themselves as police before they approached Kimani. "It all happened so fast. I didn't even know they were officers," he said. "I didn't hear them say a thing."