Teen shot in back by LAPD in fake gun incident

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The last two officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles involved fake guns, police said. In one incident, the person that was hit was a 15-year-old boy.

Authorities held a news conference on Thursday to remind the public about the dangers of having replica guns.

On Tuesday, a juvenile was holding a gun, which turned out to be fake, on the 7200 block of 10th Avenue. Police say when they ordered the kid to drop the gun, he refused.

An officer fired a shot toward him, but "the individual who was shot by our officer was not the individual holding that was holding that gun; he was actually standing next to that individual," said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith.

The fake gun has an orange tip, signifying it's not a real weapon.

"He was holding that gun at an angle away from our officers," Smith said. "As you can see, it's a very small orange tip."

The teen hospitalized for a gunshot wound in the back and was released back to his parents the same day.

During a wild police chase earlier this week, Aaron Lorta pointed his gun at a 22-year-old mother of two and carjacked her vehicle. He eventually was shot by police in Montebello, who then realized he'd been carrying a fake gun.

"Even our gun experts have a hard time telling the difference between (a fake and real gun)," Smith said.

Last November, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by Cleveland police officers. Rice was carrying a fake gun.

"As we've seen in Cleveland, and as we've seen here, these replica firearms can be a disaster if they're used out in public," Smith said.

In 2016, new California legislation will go into effect requiring orange tips on air soft guns only. The LAPD is pushing legislation requiring all fake guns to be painted entirely orange or green.

"These replica guns, these replica firearms, are so realistic," Smith said. "We ask parents to use extreme caution."