Community in unrest as Utica police release video of officer fatally shooting teen on ground

The mother of the 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Utica police cries after listening to a translator inside Utica City Hall, New York, June 29, 2024. Photo by Daniel DeLoach/Utica Observer-Dispatch/USA Today Red via Reuters

NEW YORK (AP) — Video released Saturday night shows an officer in upstate New York fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy who had been wrestled to the ground after he ran from police and pointed a replica handgun at them.

READ MORE: NYPD Shoots, Kills 13-Year-Old Boy Wielding Pellet Gun, Authorities Say

The teenager was killed shortly after 10 p.m. Friday in Utica after officers in the city about 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan detained two youths in connection with an armed robbery investigation, police said.

The boys, both 13, matched the descriptions of the robbery suspects and were in the same area at about the same time the next day, police said. One of them was also walking down the street, which violates state traffic law.

Body camera video released by police captures an officer saying he needs to pat them down to make sure they don’t have weapons in their possession. Immediately one of the two, identified by the police as Nyah Mway, flees.

Authorities frozen frames of the video in which Nyah Mway appears to run and point the gun at the officers pursuing her. Police also edited the video to insert a red circle around the gun to show it to viewers.

Officers believed it was a handgun, police said, but it was later determined to be a replica of a Glock 17 Gen 5 pistol with a detachable magazine.

“During a struggle on the ground” with the teen, one of the officers fired a single shot that hit the boy in the chest, Utica Police Chief Mark Williams said.

Officers gave the teen “immediate” first aid and took him to Wynn Hospital, where he died, the chief said.

The replica gun the teen was carrying “is in all respects a realistic looking firearm with GLOCK markings, signatures, detachable magazine and serial numbers,” police spokesman Lt. Michael Curley said by email. “However, it ultimately only fires pellets or BBs.”

A video posted on Facebook by a bystander shows one of the officers chasing Nyah Mway and tackling him to the ground. It also shows the officer punching the teen as two other officers arrive. A gunshot is heard as the teen is on the ground and the officers quickly get to their feet.

The officer who fired his weapon was identified as Patrick Husnay, a six-year veteran of the agency. Husnay and officers Bryce Patterson and Andrew Citriniti were placed on paid administrative leave.

Police body camera video shows a chaotic scene.

Nyah Mway points the replica handgun at the officers as she runs away from them. The officers yell “gun!” at each other as they run. Patterson then tackles and punches Nyah Mway, and as the two struggle on the ground, Husnay opens fire.

Officers initially thought Nyah Mway had shot himself, and Patterson says, “I don’t know if he shot me.” It’s unclear whether he’s referring to Nyah Mway or his partner. Patterson was not hit.

During the footage, bystanders shout at police and at one point an officer responds: “We’re trying to save him right now!”

The other young man was detained in the back of a police vehicle and did not participate in the shooting.

During his “public safety statement,” a brief interview typically conducted after a police shooting to ensure there is no additional threat, Husnay said he fired one round “directly into the ground.” He did not know whether Nyah Mway had fired at the officers, but said he believed the weapon was a .22-caliber handgun.

The police department released the body camera videos following public outrage over the shooting in Utica, a city with a population of 65,000. According to The Center, a nonprofit that helps resettle refugees, more than 4,200 people from Myanmar live there.

Nyah Mway, who local media reported was an eighth-grade student at Donovan Middle School, was identified as a Myanmar-born refugee and member of the Karen ethnic minority.

The Karen are an ethnic minority among groups at war with the military rulers of Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country formerly known as Burma. The military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests seeking a return to democratic rule.

A tense news conference Saturday ended early as Williams, the city’s mayor and an interpreter struggled to speak amid repeated outbursts from the audience. Members of the community attended, including the young man’s family.

The police department is conducting an internal investigation into whether officers followed policies and training. The state attorney general will open his own case to determine whether the shooting was justified.

“I want to offer my sincere condolences to the family of the deceased at this difficult time,” Williams said. “This is a tragic and traumatic incident for everyone involved.”