San Diego high school boy, armed with BB gun, shot dead by police

-Police say they told the boy to drop his weapon several times before shooting
– Authorities received a call for a welfare check, but it was the student calling about himself
– The shooting happened just hours before scheduled SAT exams at the school

A Torrey Pines High School student is dead after police shot the boy during an altercation at the school on Saturday. Authorities said they received a call for a welfare check to the school, but later realized it was the boy himself who made the call.

CBS 8 reports that a juvenile service team officer from the San Diego Police Department’s Northwestern Division, along with other officers, responded to the welfare call at around 3:27 a.m. at the school, located at 3710 Del Mar Heights Road, in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego. Homicide Lt. Mike Holden said that the caller stated that the person at the school was unarmed. When they arrived, however, they saw a boy standing in the school parking; the boy reportedly pulled what looked liked like a handgun from waistband as he saw police arrive.

“As the officers exited their patrol car, the subject pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed it directly at one of the officers. Both officers drew their weapons while repeatedly giving the male commands to drop his handgun.”

Authorities said the boy, identified as a 15-year-old student at Torrey Pines, started walking towards one of the officers while ignoring their commands. According to Holden, two officers, fearing for their safety, began shooting at the child, striking him numerous times. Shortly after, officers attempted to life-saving techniques on the boy while waiting for medical help. The student was then flown to Scripps Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Holden later said that the weapon the boy was holding was a semi-automatic BB air pistol. The boy was a resident of the Carmel neighborhood, but his name hasn’t been released yet. The names of the two officers who shot the boy, a 28-year-veteran and 4-year-veteran of the force, are also disclosed, pending an internal investigation. Both officers were assigned to desk duty while authorities investigate.

The incident was captured on video via the officers’ body cams. The shooting occurred just hours before scheduled SAT exams at the school.

The story is still developing. Check back with Crime Online as additional details become available.

[Feature Image: Google Maps/Jan. 2016]