California sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a teenager with autism who was holding a gardening tool over the weekend, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and a family attorney said.
A “dramatic” incident that unfolded at 15-year-old Ryan Gainer’s family home had already calmed down before authorities arrived at the scene, attorney DeWitt M. Lacy said.
Deputies in Apple Valley responded to a 911 call around 4:48 p.m. PT March 9 from Gainer’s family, who said he “was actively assaulting family members and damaging property at the residence,” according to a sheriff’s department news release Sunday.
In audio of a 911 call released by the sheriff’s department, a woman can be heard describing the incident and reporting an “assault and battery.” She indicated Gainer broke a window.
“They gotta take him in,” the woman can be heard saying in the audio.
“At approximately 4:54 p.m., the first deputy arrived at the residence and was confronted by Gainer, who was armed with an approximate five-foot-long garden tool, with a sharp bladed end,” the release says. Gainer then raised the blade of the tool and ran toward a deputy, who tried to retreat, the release said.
