12-year-old with toy gun shot by Cleveland police CLEVELAND, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old boy carrying a BB gun was shot and wounded by Cleveland police on Saturday night, according to officials. Officers responded to a report of a male with a gun outside Cudell Recreation Center about 3:30 p.m. According to Cleveland.com. The two responding officers said they pulled up and saw a black gun on a table, and then saw a boy pick it up and put it into his waistband. Police told the boy to put his hands up. Police said instead the boy reached into his waistband. He was shot by a rookie police officer. According to WKYC.com, the boy was shot in the abdomen. He was being treated for serious injuries at MetroHealth Medical Center. He was in surgery late Saturday, according to police. The gun police and witnesses saw turned out to be an Airsoft replica toy gun according to a statement from Cleveland police. An orange marking designed to make the toys distinguishable from real firearms had been removed, police said.