The New York attorney general’s office is investigating the fatal police shooting of a 13-year-old boy who officers say pointed a replica handgun at them during a foot chase on Friday.
Nyah Mway was killed after Utica officers stopped him and another teenager who, police say, were in the area of a robbery that had been reported the previous day. When Nyah ran away, police tackled him to the ground and an officer fired a shot at him, body-camera footage shows.
“While a stop like that is routine, it became tragic in mere moments,” Mayor Michael Galime (R) said at a news conference Saturday.
New York state law requires the attorney general’s office to investigate all instances when a police officer may have caused a death.
Police identified the officer who fired his gun Friday as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the department, and said officers Andrew Citrinitiand Bryce Patterson were also present. All three were on paid leave as of Saturday, Williams said.
The killing outraged community members in Utica — about 50 miles east of Syracuse — where Nyah’s relatives and friends gathered for a vigil in his honor on Saturday night. Attempts to reach Nyah’s family were unsuccessful Sunday evening.
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The incident on Friday began about 10:18 p.m., when officers stopped Nyah and another 13-year-old because they matched the descriptions of robbery suspects, police said. Nyah was on foot, and the other teen, whom officials have not publicly identified, was on a bike, body-camera footage shows.
Just after an officer tells Nyah that they’re going to pat him down to confirm he doesn’t have any weapons, he starts to run away, the video shows.
Officers chase after him, according to the footage. At one point, the video shows, Nyah turns to face officers while holding what looks like a gun. An officer can be heard shouting, “Got a gun!”
Share this articleSharePolice then tackle Nyah to the ground as an officer yells, “Drop it!”One of the officers fires a shot, striking the teen, the video shows.
Nyah was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said.
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What officers thought was a real firearm in his hand turned out to be a replica of a Glock 17 handgun, Police Chief Mark Williams said at the news conference.
On a fundraising page, Nyah’s family wrote that they had moved to the United States nine years ago as refugees from Myanmar. They described Nyah as an “outgoing kid” who loved biking and spending time with family and friends. He had graduated from middle school two days before the shooting.
Now, the family wrote, they would “never get to see him grow up.”
Lay Htoo, one of Nyah’s cousins, told the Associated Press that the family had been searching for a calm life away from Myanmar’s violence.
“We came to the United States, finally, to get the education and to get the good jobs here,” he said.
Anguish over the killing was on display at Saturday’s news conference, where community members shouted as Williams described the shooting.
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“I know there’s a lot of emotions in this room, a lot of upset people, but you’re asking us to be transparent,” Williams said. “And when you shout over us, it makes it very difficult to do so.”
Galime stepped in to urge order, saying that officials planned to speak directly and privately to Nyah’s family afterward. Audience members continued talking loudly as officials wrapped up the event.
About a minute before it ended, someone in the audience called out, “We don’t trust you guys anymore.”
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