By Kate Feldman

Source New York Daily News

A 17-year-old Florida boy was shot and killed by police after he turned what witnesses called a “military-style rifle” on officers. The gun turned out to be an airsoft rifle.

Alexander King, a junior at Tarpon Springs High School, was identified at a press conference Monday, two days after he was fatally shot around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tarpon Springs Police Chief Jeffrey Young said officers received 9-1-1 calls Saturday night about someone waving a rifle at cars driving past the downtown intersection. Two officers responded and ran toward the suspect, later identified as King.

The teenager then lifted the weapon to his shoulder, charged it and took aim at the officers, who were hiding behind a car, according to Young.

“The two officers, in fear for theirs and the lives of others, fired multiple rounds each at the subject,” the police chief said.

King was hit multiple times and handcuffed.

Officers attempted CPR until first responders arrived, but King was pronounced dead at the hospital.

After the scene was cleared, officers determined that the weapon was an airsoft rifle.

Both officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, Young said.

According to police, King had been in frequent trouble, including two felony arrests, one for battery on a school board employee in 2017 and one for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in 2018.

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