Teen With Autism Fatally Shot After Sheriff's Officers Called To California Home

The parents of Ryan Gainer asked the sheriff's department to come “take him in” after an altercation that turned into a mental health crisis.

A 15-year-old California boy who appeared to be dealing with a mental health crisis was killed when deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call from his parents on Saturday.

The parents of Ryan Gainer, a teen with autism, called the Apple Valley division of the sheriff’s department and asked authorities to “take him in” after an altercation in the home, according to the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the teen was shot after charging a deputy “armed with an approximate five-foot-long garden tool, with a sharp bladed end,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s department.

The incident began when Gainer’s parents told him he couldn’t use his video game console or computer until after he finished his chores. When he became upset and started hitting his sister and breaking glass at the Apple Valley home, his parents called the sheriff’s office, the L.A. Times said.

The sheriff’s department said that Gainer, “without provocation,” confronted and chased the first deputy while wielding the tool.

“The deputy retreated and Gainer chased the deputy in an attempt to assault him with the bladed end of the tool. A lethal force encounter occurred, and Gainer was struck by gunfire,” according to the news release.