Boy, 13, With Replica Gun Shot Dead by Deputies

A 13-year-old boy in Santa Rosa, California, is dead after deputies mistook the replica assault rifle he was carrying for the real thing, reports the AP. Two deputies encountered Andy Lopez walking yesterday afternoon with what looked like an AK-47, reports the local Press Democrat. Police say they repeatedly ordered the youth to drop the weapon and opened fire when he didn't do so. It was only after the teen was fatally shot that deputies learned the assault rifle was a replica, as was the plastic handgun in his waistband. The shooting is under investigation. (More Santa Rosa, Calif. stories.)