US: Teen shot dead by police after allegedly killing K9, pointing gun at officers in Georgia

Georgia [US]: A 17-year-old boy was shot dead by the police after he allegedly killed a police dog and pointed his gun at officers, authorities in Georgia said, CNN reported.

The teenager has been identified as Stephon Ford by Clayton County Police Department Assistant Chief Bruce Parks during a news conference on Saturday.

Parks said that the shooting happened in Jonesboro, Georgia, which is about 17 miles south of Atlanta, just before 2 am.

The Jonesboro Police Department was responding to suspicious activity involving three males at a hotel, police said. Upon contact, all three fled, and two were caught by police and taken into custody, Parks said.

Jonesboro police then reached out to the Clayton County Police Department to help with the search for the third suspect, as per CNN.

County police dispatched a police K-9 unit, which located the suspect hiding in a nearby wooded area, Clayton County police Capt. John Ivey said. Verbal commands were given for the suspect to come out, Ivey said. The teen then allegedly produced a handgun and began firing, striking the police dog.

The officers set up a perimeter to contain the suspect and transported the dog to a local animal hospital where it later succumbed to its injuries.

The officers several hours later, located the suspect again within the search perimeter and gave him several commands to drop his weapon, according to Clayton County police.

The suspect then allegedly pointed his firearm at officers. Officers opened fire on the suspect, striking and killing him. No officers or civilians were injured during this incident.

This investigation is being turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. In a Facebook post, police identified the dog that was killed as Waro. (ANI)