Caught On Camera: Armed 13-Year-Old Boy Shot, Wounded By Police In Standoff In San Bernardino Cemetery
SAN BERNARDINO (CBSLA) – A 13-year-old boy was shot and wounded Thursday afternoon after allegedly pointing a gun at police during a standoff in a cemetery in San Bernardino.
According to San Bernardino police, the situation began a little before 2 p.m. when officers were dispatched to the Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, located at 211 E. 9th St., on a 911 call from the boy falsely claiming he had just killed three people.
During the 911 call, dispatchers heard the boy fire multiple shots. He also told dispatchers, "if they don't kill me, I'll have to kill them," supposedly referring to the responding officers.
When officers got on scene, they found the boy holding a loaded gun with an extended magazine, police said.
Nataly Lopez, a witness, recorded the incident on her cellphone.
"When I see him, I think of my kids," Lopez said. "I'm like, what is he doing, where are his parents?"
According to Lopez, police later told her that the teenager was standing beside his mother's grave.
Another witness at the cemetery told CBSLA's Nicole Comstock that the boy very clearly appeared suicidal and that he tried, but failed to calm the teenager down.
Officers formed a perimeter around the cemetery and tried to negotiate with the boy to surrender, police said, but the boy refused several commands to drop the gun. He eventually walked toward officers, out frame, behind a building.
That's when officers say he pointed the gun at them and one of them shot and wounded him.
Lopez said that when she saw the boy point the gun at officers, she worried he might point it at her home, where her young children were.
"It's scary because you don't know what they're going to do. There's a school right across the street. Sometimes, there are a lot of kids playing outside," Lopez said.
Detectives said they found two guns, four magazines and a lot of ammunition in the suspect's bag, which leads them to believe that the teenager was ready for a long confrontation.
The boy was taken to the hospital where he is being treated for his gunshot wound and is expected to survive.
No officers or bystanders were hurt during the standoff.
