On Saturday evening, a video surfaced showing a police officer in upstate New York shooting and killing a 13-year-old boy.
The incident took place in Utica, a city located about 240 miles northwest of Manhattan, late Friday night, after 10 pm. The officers had stopped two teenagers in connection with an ongoing armed robbery investigation.
Both 13-year-old youths matched the descriptions of the robbery suspects and were seen in the same area the day after the crime.
One of the youths was walking in the road, which is a violation of state traffic law, according to the police. In the police body camera footage, an officer can be heard stating that a pat-down is necessary to check for any weapons the individuals might be carrying.
As soon as the officer makes this statement, one of the two people, later identified as Nyah Mway by law enforcement, flees the scene.
The video released by the police department featured certain frames that were frozen, giving the impression that Nyah Mway was aiming a gun at the pursuing officers. In order to highlight the weapon, a red circle was added to the video by the police during the editing process.
Initially, the officers believed the weapon to be a real handgun. However, upon closer examination, it was discovered that it was actually a replica of a “Glock 17 Gen 5 handgun with a detachable magazine.”
Following a physical altercation with the teenager, one of the officers fired a single shot that hit the boy in the chest, as stated by the city’s mayor, Williams.
The teenager received immediate first aid from the officers and was transported to Wynn Hospital, where he later passed away, according to the police chief.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased individual during this challenging period,” he expressed.
The replica gun carried by the teenager “bears a striking resemblance to a real firearm, complete with GLOCK markings, signatures, detachable magazine, and serial numbers,” mentioned Lt. Michael Curley, a police spokesperson, in an email. “However, it only shoots pellets or BB’s,” he clarified.
The incident, captured on video by a bystander and shared on Facebook, shows an officer chasing Nyah Mway and forcefully bringing him down to the ground. The footage also shows the officer hitting the teenager as two more officers arrive at the scene. A gunshot is heard while the teen is on the ground, causing the officers to quickly react.
The police officer who discharged his weapon has been identified as Patrick Husnay, a veteran of the department for six years. Husnay, along with Officers Bryce Patterson and Andrew Citriniti, have been put on administrative leave with pay pending further investigation.
In light of the public outcry and the impact of the shooting on the Utica community, the police department has decided to release the body camera footage.
Nyah Mway, an 8th-grade student at Donovan Middle School, has been identified as a refugee from Myanmar and a member of the Karen ethnic group, according to local media reports.
Utica, a city with a population exceeding 65,000, is situated approximately 240 miles (400 kilometers) northwest of Manhattan. According to The Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to refugee resettlement, Utica is home to more than 4,200 individuals from Myanmar.
The Karen people are an ethnic minority engaged in ongoing conflicts with Myanmar’s military government, which overthrew the democratically elected government in 2021 and violently suppressed peaceful protests calling for the restoration of democratic rule in the Southeast Asian nation, previously known as Burma.
