Black suicidal Florida teen was holding toy gun when 5 cops opened fire on him: police

The Gainesville Police Department issued a statement saying a 16-year-old black teen shot and killed by police officers Sunday was carrying a toy gun, reports WUFT.

According to police, Robert Dentmond called 911 Sunday evening and told operators he was walking around with an M16 rifle at an apartment complex and that he was going to kill himself before he hung up on the operator.

Officers responding to the scene discovered Dentmond holding what they believed to be a real weapon and began a dialogue with the teen, stating he dropped the toy gun before picking it up and beginning to walk away.

"Deputies gave verbal commands to drop the weapon which he initially did, and as we tried to establish a rapport with the individual, to try to get him to move away from the weapon, he picked it up, rearmed himself, and started walking toward an occupied apartment complex," says Lieutenant Brandon Kutner, spokesperson for the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

After refusing orders to stop, police opened fire, killing the teen.

Dentmond was rushed to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Residents in the complex confirmed they heard Dentmond ordered repeatedly to drop the gun and surrender.

In a statement to the press, authorities said the gun in question was "a realistic replica of a semi-automatic rifle."

"The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office also confirms that five (5) Deputies fired their weapons during the course of this incident," the statement read. "Three (3) of the Deputies on scene are Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) certified, having undergone 40-hours of training in identifying individuals suffering from mental illnesses, individuals in crisis, and de-escalation techniques."

According to the investigators, the officers have been placed on administrative duty while Internal Affairs investigates.