Toy Gun Looked Real, Teen Shot

A South Jersey teenager said he is both a victim and a suspect after he is shot by police in Atlantic City Tuesday night.

Officers wounded the 13-year-old after he refused to drop a toy gun that police said looked like it could have been real.

Luis Delacruz said that the toy guns he and his friends were playing with had red-colored barrels but experienced police officer said they looked real.

"(We were) playing around. Then the cops stopped us," Delacruz remembered.

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. outside a pizza shop.

Delacruz and German Salazar were stopped because, authorities say, the veteran officer thought the pellet guns the teens had were actual weapons. When Delacruz failed to drop his gun, the officer fired two shots. Delacruz said that he was attempting to put his pellet gun down when the officer shot.

Delacruz, who was hit by a single gunshot wound, changed his story later and said that he had already dropped the toy when he was shot.

"When I put it down, you could see it wasn't a real gun," Delacruz said.

The incident marked the fourth police-involved shooting in Atlantic City this summer. Atlantic County prosecutors are investigating those cases and are looking into this one, as well.

Police officials said the pellet gun, at night, looks like a .380 semiautomatic pistol.

Delacruz is in a hospital in fair condition. He is expected to go home Wednesday. He faces juvenile charges of aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

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