Ohio police shoot dead 13-year-old boy because he had a BB gun

A 13-year-old boy carrying a BB gun has been shot dead by police in Ohio after he fled the scene of a suspected armed robbery on foot and pulled the gun from his waistband.

Tyree King, the teenage victim of the 14 September shooting, was taken to a children's hospital in Columbus but did not survive the multiple gunshot wounds.

Police had reportedly been responding to a robbery in which the victim told them he had been asked for money by three males, one of whom he believed had a gun.

As officers approached three people matching the description of the robbers, two of them ran from officers, who pursued them and fired shots at King after they believed him to pull a gun out.

In a statement, police told CBS News: "Officers followed the males to the alley... and attempted to take them into custody when one suspect pulled a gun from his waistband. One officer shot and struck the suspect multiple times."

However, it was later discovered that what police and the robbery victim believed was a real gun was actually a BB gun, which fires small pellets and is not generally considered to be a lethal weapon.

The other male who fled from police along with King was not injured in the shooting, and was arrested at the scene, while the authorities are looking for a third suspect and investigating the shooting.