A police detective shot a teenager in East Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday afternoon after he spotted the boy carrying what looked like a semi-automatic pistol in the neighbourhood of the McKim community center.

Dedric Colvin, 13, was chased by two detectives upon spotting him with the gun. The names of the two officers have not been revealed.

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The police was on high alert on Wednesday as the city marked the first anniversary of the riots which erupted last year after the death of Freddie Gray in police custody.

Commissioner Kevin Davis has denied any misconduct on the part of the police officers and insisted that they were merely fulfilling their duty when they spotted the teen with a gun and tried to stop him.

According to the police report, only after Dedric started running did the police officers give chase. One of the detectives then opened fire on the boy to stop.

Davis stressed the fact that the gun, identified as Daisy's spring air pistol, is an exact replica of a real pistol and there was no way a policeman could tell the difference.

Maryland is one of the states that has no air gun laws of its own. The state has seen a rise in crimes committed with the use of replica guns, often carried on the pretext of self defence.

Many have questioned what Dedric was doing with the Daisy air pistol since he was only 13 years old. The gun manufacturer clearly warned that the air pistol is meant for those 16 and above.

Despite the support that police seem to have garnered in this particular controversy, there is still widespread criticisms of alleged brutality by US law enforcement authorities amid the growing gun violence.

President Barack Obama severely condemned the gun culture in the country that has caused some of the worst tragedies for the American people.  

Despite several measures, gun violence in the region continues to be on the rise. This was the second major incident involving gun violence on Wednesday after a shooting during a home invasion at the Ohio State University campus.

TagsUSA, gun control, America gun violence, gun law, Ohio State University, Baltimore riots