Alexander King Wiki – Alexander King Biography
Alexander King, an 11th-grader at Tarpon Springs High School, was pointing an airsoft rifle at passing vehicles when he was shot Saturday night, police said.
According to the Tarpon Springs Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Tarpon Springs Springs that left a boy dead.
Age
He was 17 years old.
Incident Details
Police said they received several calls Saturday evening about a white male walking down N. Pinellas Avenue and pointing what appeared to be an AK-style rifle at passing vehicles.
When officers arrived at the southeast corner of N. Pinellas Avenue and Tarpon Avenue intersection around 9:30 p.m., they spotted King on the northwest corner of the meeting. King pointed the gun at them and several occupied cars on the road, police said.
Responding officers took cover behind the vehicles, then fired at King, Tarpon Springs Police Chief Jeffrey Young said during the news conference Monday. He said that two officers fired 12 rounds — seven from a patrol rifle and five from an agency handgun.
Officers had received reports that King was possibly armed with an AK-style rifle, but, according to Young, King was carrying an airsoft gun, also known as a pellet gun.
Who is Mahjabin Hakimi? Wiki, Biography, Age, Afghan Volleyball Player, Beheaded
King was hit and fell to the ground. Officers then handcuffed King as a precaution, Young said, and began CPR until paramedics arrived.
King was transported to Bayonet Point Hospital but was pronounced dead at 11:05 p.m., Young said.
Investigation
Young said that the officers involved in the shooting are on paid leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates. The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s Office and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office forensic unit also investigate the shooting. The outcome will be made public once investigators have completed their work, he said.
Tarpon Springs police will conduct an internal investigation, Young said.
Young said that King had had 22 interactions with law enforcement — 11 with Tarpon Springs police and 11 with Pinellas County law enforcement agencies. According to Young, two of those were felony arrests — battery on a school board team member in 2017 and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in 2018.
He said the department’s thoughts are with the family members of King and the officers involved in the shooting.
No other information was released.
The Pinellas County school district released a statement Monday saying it was saddened by one of its students’ passing and offering the district’s thoughts and prayers to the Tarpon Springs High School student’s family and friends.
The statement said that the district’s Student Services team would provide grief counseling for students and staff in need.
