10 Seconds You Die

FBI to launch investigation as it emerges cops 'shot 13-year-old boy carrying toy rifle' only 10 SECONDS after first spotting him - See more at: http://www.metronewsday.com/news/30382-fbi-to-launch-investigation-as-it-emerges-cops-shot-13-year-old-boy-carrying-toy-rifle-only-10-seconds-after-first-spotting-him.html#sthash.96fqMX91.dpuf

FBI to launch investigation as it emerges cops 'shot 13-year-old boy carrying toy rifle' only 10 SECONDS after first spotting him - See more at: http://www.metronewsday.com/news/30382-fbi-to-launch-investigation-as-it-emerges-cops-shot-13-year-old-boy-carrying-toy-rifle-only-10-seconds-after-first-spotting-him.html#sthash.96fqMX91.dpuf

FBI to launch investigation as it emerges cops 'shot 13-year-old boy carrying toy rifle' only 10 SECONDS after first spotting him - See more at: http://www.metronewsday.com/news/30382-fbi-to-launch-investigation-as-it-emerges-cops-shot-13-year-old-boy-carrying-toy-rifle-only-10-seconds-after-first-spotting-him.html#sthash.96fqMX91.dpuf

FBI to launch investigation as it emerges cops 'shot 13-year-old boy carrying toy rifle' only 10 SECONDS after first spotting him - See more at: http://www.metronewsday.com/news/30382-fbi-to-launch-investigation-as-it-emerges-cops-shot-13-year-old-boy-carrying-toy-rifle-only-10-seconds-after-first-spotting-him.html#sthash.96fqMX91.dpuf

FBI to launch investigation as it emerges cops 'shot 13-year-old boy carrying toy rifle' only 10 SECONDS after first spotting him

·      The FBI will investigate the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in Santa Rosa, California

·      Lopez was spotted by cops in Sonoma County carrying what they believed was a rifle

·      They ordered him to drop his weapon and opened fire in less than 10 seconds when he didn't comply

·      He was hit multiple times and died on the spot

·      A witness has now come forward to say that

deputies continued to shot at the boy's body even after he had fallen to the ground

·      The cops claim Lopez had his back to them so they didn't realize that he was just 13 years old

·      Local residents in Santa Rosa, California, angered by the shooting carried out a March For Justice on Wednesday night

·      Federal law requires replica guns to have an orange tip, but Lopez's toy rifle didn't have one

·     An eighth-grade student who played trumpet in his school band, Lopez was described as a bright and popular student

The FBI is investigating of the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Andy Lopez by a sheriff's deputy in Northern California after it emerged that police took no more than 10 seconds to open fire on Lopez after seeing him with a toy pellet gun.

Sheriff Steve Freitas said in a statement Friday afternoon that he will cooperate fully with federal investigators and welcomes their participation in the probe of Andy Lopez's killing on Tuesday afternoon.

The shooting has generated numerous protests and marches in the suburban town of Santa Rosa, with many residents questioning the deputy's decision to fire on the youth.

Popular student: Andy Lopez, 13, was shot and killed by police officers for carrying a replica assault weapon in Santa Rosa, California, on Tuesday afternoon

Protesters walk towards the site where Andy Lopez was shot and killed as part of a march to voice the local community's anger at his death

A timeline released Thursday by the Santa Rosa police shows that only 10 seconds passed from the moment that the sheriff's deputy and his partner called dispatch to report a suspicious person to the moment they called back to say shots had been fired.

FBI spokesman Paul Lee said he did not know why his agency decided to get involved or whether local authorities had requested its help.

City police and the Sonoma County district attorney's office are also investigating.

More than 100 angry middle and high school students walked to City Hall on Friday, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.

Hundreds of local residents also marched on Wednesday night to remember the popular teen and protest at the senseless shooting. They chanted 'We need justice' as they questioned how the deputies could mistake a pellet gun for an assault rifle.

Community in mourning: Pictures and written messages mark where 13-year-old Andy Lopez was shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriffís deputy Tuesday in Santa Rosa, California

The deputies, who have not been identified, have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting, officials said.

Assistant Sheriff Lorenzo Duenas told the Press Democrat that the deputy who shot the teen is a 24-year veteran and his partner, who did not fire his weapon, is a new hire.

Santa Rosa police Lieutenant Paul Henry told the newspaper the deputy who opened fire later told investigators he believed his life as well his partner's was in jeopardy. The deputy said the teen didn't comply with commands to drop the gun and was turning toward the deputies while raising the barrel.

'The deputy's mindset was that he was fearful that he was going to be shot,' Henry said at a Wednesday news conference.

Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, said officers are typically justified in the use of deadly force when they sincerely believe lives are at stake.

If the teen was raising the barrel of the gun toward officers, they had little choice about firing, Alpert said.

'If it's a pink bubble gum gun and an obvious fake to most, then there is no reason to shoot,' he said. 'But if the gun looks real the barrel is being pointed at you ... it's unfortunate, but a perceived threat trumps age and the officers have to protect themselves.'

The Santa Rosa Police Department said two deputies in a squad car encountered the hoodie-wearing Lopez just after 3:14pm.

Witnesses say at least one of the deputies took cover behind an open front door of the cruiser, and one yelled twice 'drop the gun.'

Ten seconds after their initial report to dispatch, one of the officers called in 'shot have been fired.'

Sixteen seconds later, the deputies were calling for medical help. Cruz was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sonoma County coroner said he found seven 'apparent entry wounds,' two of them fatal.

Sujey Lopez and her husband Rodrigo Lopez mourn for their son by a memorial set up at the site where he was shot and killed by a Sonoma County sheriff's deputy

Neighbor Ethan Oliver, left, witnessed the shooting and claims police continued to shot at the body of Andy Lopez, right, even after he had fallen to the ground

Ethan Oliver, who lives across the street, told KTVU.com that the deputies continued to shoot at the boy, even after he had fallen to the ground.

Oliver said he went outside after hearing two gun shots and by that time Lopez was already on the ground. ‘Then the cops went at it again and unloaded like six to seven shots,’ he said.

When asked if he meant that the deputy shot Lopez while he was on the ground, Oliver said, ‘Yeah. Exactly what I saw.’

Authorities haven't responded to his claims, but it raises the possibility that Lopez was still alive when he hit the ground after the first two shots were fired.

During a news conference on Wednesday authorities displayed a real assault weapon and the pellet gun - which resembled an AK-47 with a black magazine and brown butt - to demonstrate how difficult it is to tell them apart.

The coroner reported seven entry wounds, two of them fatal.

Federal law requires replica guns to have an orange tip, but Lopez's toy rifle didn't have one.

Police also revealed that Lopez had his back to the deputies, so they didn't realize he was so young. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and shorts.

They claim Lopez was about 20 to 30 feet from them when he turned with the barrel of the gun pointing toward them and they opened fire because they feared for their lives.

‘The deputy then fired several rounds from his service weapon at the subject,’ said Santa Rosa Police Lt. Paul Henry, ‘striking him at least one time. The subject immediately fell to the ground.’

'The deputy's mindset was that he was fearful that he was going to be shot.'

Hundreds of people marched through the Santa Rosa neighborhood where Lopez was killed on Wednesday night to protest and demand justice.

'We don't know the reason why they killed him,' Katia Ontiveros, 18, told the Press Democrat of Santa Rosa. She said her brother was Andy's friend. 'They should know if a gun is real.'

The marchers went to the site at the edge of a field where the boy was shot. Community members had left candles, teddy bears and flowers there.

Some community members wondered whether the deputies acted appropriately when they decided to fire on such a young person.

‘I'm sure you can tell he's a 13-year-old boy,’ Abrey Martin told KGO-TV. ‘He's not some maniac.’

One marcher told KTVU that the boy wasn't doing anything that a teen in any other part of the county wouldn't be doing.

'If this is like anywhere else in rural Sonoma County and a kid with a pellet gun, they wouldn't have done nothing to him,' said Greg Kestel. 'But this urban area they just blast the kid.'

Andy, an eighth-grade student who played trumpet in his school band, was described as a bright and popular student, liked by many in his community, including Lawrence Cook Middle School assistant principal Linsey Gannon.

‘Andy was a very loved student, a very popular, very handsome young man, very smart and capable,’ Gannon said Wednesday. ‘Our community has been rocked by his loss.’

Sujey Lopez and her husband Rodrigo Lopez, center, sit with their son Randy while praying at a vigil on the site where their 13-year-old son Andy Lopez was shot and killed

Lopez's heartbroken family say he was carrying just a toy while police have described it as a replica of an AK-47 style rifle

Even members of law enforcement expressed sympathy.

The Santa Rosa and Petaluma police departments will join with the District Attorney's office in the investigation of the shooting while the two deputies are on administrative leave.

In a statement, Sheriff Steve Freitas said the shooting was a ‘tragedy’ and that he would do everything he could to ensure the investigation was thorough and transparent.

'The public expects that the investigation will be thorough and transparent. As sheriff, I will do all in my power to see that expectation is satisfied,' he said. 'My hope is that we can work with the community to help prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future.'

Some legislators have sought to impose restrictions on replica guns in an effort to make sure police don't mistake them for real ones.

California law requires 'imitation weapons' to look like playthings by being brightly colored or transparent, but a state senator's proposal in 2011 to extend that requirement to air guns failed after manufacturers and retailers opposed it.

According to police, two Sonoma County deputies were on patrol at 3 p.m. on Tuesday when they observed Lopez walking with what they believed to be a rifle

The boy's father, Rodrigo Lopez, had identified the dead teen as his son Andy and said he had been carrying ‘a toy gun’ belonging to a friend.

According to police, two Sonoma County deputies were on patrol at 3 p.m. when they observed the boy walking with what they believed to be a rifle.

The deputies called for backup and repeatedly ordered the boy to drop the rifle, Sheriff's Lt. Dennis O'Leary said in a news release.

At some point after the deputies told Lopez to drop the rifle, they fired several rounds and hit him multiple times.

After ordering Lopez to move away from the rifle, deputies approached the unresponsive teen as he lay on the ground and handcuffed him before administering first aid and calling for medical assistance, O'Leary said.

Lopez was later pronounced dead at the scene, while neither deputy was injured.

The Lopez family are devastated by the loss of their son, his grief-stricken mom Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez has demanded to know why he was killed

After securing the scene, deputies discovered the rifle was merely a replica. Deputies also found a plastic handgun in the teen's waistband.

Police are referring to the gun as a replica of an AK-47 style rifle, while the Lopez family have described it as a ‘toy.’ It isn’t clear if it was capable of firing BBs or other projectiles.

Rodrigo Lopez told The Press Democrat that the last time he saw his son was on Tuesday morning as he was leaving for work.

‘I told him what I tell him every day,’ he said in Spanish. ‘Behave yourself.’

The boy’s grief-stricken mom, Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez, said 'Why did they kill him? Why?'

Sheriff's officials have not released the names of the deputies who have been placed on administrative leave.

Zechariah 11:5

Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be theLord; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.


Ecclesiastes 5:8

If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvelnot at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.


Jeremiah 50:7

All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope of their fathers.