By Police1 Staff
MIAMI — North Miami Beach Police mistook a toy rifle for a weapon and fatally shot the mentally disabled man brandishing it.
Officers responded to calls Wednesday night saying a man was walking around with a gun, according to WFOR. Witnesses said they saw 56-year-old Ernest Vassell aim the rifle at a neighborhood dog before he turned toward officers, who fired at him.
Police say the toy appeared to be a real weapon, and the officer involved is on administrative leave while police and the state attorney’s office investigate.
Vassell, whose sisters say was mentally disabled after a brain injury as a child, was flown to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. No one else was injured in the incident.