By Julie Watson
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — A 15-year-old boy left a suicide note before he was killed by officers after pointing a BB gun at them in a high school parking lot in the dark, police said Monday.
Assistant Police Chief Brian Ahearn told The Associated Press that police found the note on the Torrey Pines High School student.
“We believe that he called the police and pulled the gun on them so that he would be shot,” Ahearn said.
Police say the boy called 911 shortly before 3:30 a.m. to ask officers to check on the welfare of an unarmed boy in front of the school.
When two officers arrived, they spotted a youth in the front parking lot. As they got out of their patrol cars, he pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at an officer, police said.
The officers drew their guns and ordered him to drop the weapon. But instead he began to walk toward an officer, ignoring more demands to drop the weapon, police said.
Both officers fired, hitting him several times. They performed first aid and called paramedics. The teen was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The gun was found to be a BB air pistol. Investigators determined the teen made the 911 call.
Police didn’t release the teen’s name because of his age.
The San Diego Union High School District said in a statement that it was sending a crisis-response team to the campus Monday to support students, staff and parents. Counseling was also made available at all schools in the district for anyone wanting to talk about the shooting.