Cleveland police shot dead a 12-year-old boy after carrying what turned out to be a replica gun in a playground.
The medical examiner for Cuyahoga County identified the boy as Tamir Rice.
Police say an officer fired two shots at Tamir Rice after he failed to obey an order to raise his hands.
A caller reported the boy to police for scaring people with a gun but said that he did not know if it was real.
One of the officers was in his first year on the local force, the other had more than 10 years of experience.
Tamir Rice was shot on Saturday afternoon and died in hospital early on Sunday morning.
Cleveland deputy police chief Ed Tomba said Tamir Rice was shot twice after pulling the gun from the waistband of his trousers.
The boy did not make any verbal threats nor point the gun towards the officers, Ed Tomba added.
Police said the weapon was an “airsoft” replica gun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol, adding that an orange safety indicator had been removed.
The caller said the boy was pulling the gun in and out of his trousers.
“I don’t know if it’s real or not,” the caller told police.
Jeff Follmer, president of the Cleveland police association, said the two officers at the scene were not told about the caller’s comments.
An investigation is under way and both officers have been placed on administrative leave.
He says there have already been calls for tighter controls on fake guns, with one local lawmaker – Alicia Reece – saying she intends to introduce legislation that would require fake guns sold in Ohio to be brightly colored.
Cleveland’s police force has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, most notably over a high-profile car chase in 2012 that ended with two deaths and officers firing 137 shots.
The US Justice Department is currently conducting an investigation of the force’s pursuit and use-of-force practices.
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Ariel Castro, who is accused of imprisoning three women in his Cleveland home for a decade, spends most of his time in jail resting or asleep, with breaks for pacing, showers and cell cleaning.
New jail logs released Friday also document defendant Ariel Castro thanking a guard for bringing him breakfast and wishing him a good day.
Ariel Castro, 52, remains on suicide watch with his activities documented in writing every 10 minutes at the Cuyahoga County jail.
He faces preliminary charges of rape and kidnapping following his arrest last week on suspicion of kidnapping the women off the streets near his west side neighborhood, then holding them against their will and sexually assaulting them over the next 10 years.
DNA tests showed Ariel Castro is the father of 6-year-old Jocelyn, born to captive Amanda Berry during her time in the house.
Ariel Castro spends most of his time in jail resting or asleep, with breaks for pacing, showers and cell cleaning
Ariel Castro, a former school bus driver, was arrested May 6 shortly after Amanda Berry kicked out part of a locked door of his house and yelled to neighbors to help her and call police.
Police quickly arrived and found Amanda Berry in the street holding a girl and then raced through the house, freeing Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. The women were admitted to a hospital but have been released and have remained in seclusion, appealing for privacy.
The three disappeared between 2002 and 2004, when they were in their teens or early 20s, authorities said.
Ariel Castro has been jailed on $8 million bond.
Ariel Castro’s attorney, Craig Weintraub, has described Castro’s cell as a 9-by-9-foot cell containing a metal bed with a thin mattress covered in plastic, a metal sink, and some kind of mirror.
Previous logs said Ariel Castro walked around the cell naked early in his confinement, though he later covered up.
Craig Weintraub, who has said Ariel Castro will plead not guilty, did not immediately return a message left Friday about the logs.
The logs show that Ariel Castro periodically asks for the time, looks out the window and stares at the ceiling.
“… up and pacing,” according to a handwritten note at 8:10 a.m. on Tuesday, which follows an entry on Ariel Castro going to the bathroom.
“Inmate laying on mat staring at the floor,” says an entry that night at 7:30 p.m.
“Inmate laying on mat staring at the ceiling,” says an entry 10 minutes later.
Wednesday morning beginning at 10:20 a.m., Ariel Castro cleaned his cell for 40 minutes, according to the logs.
“Thank you,” Castro says when he received his breakfast at 6:36 a.m. on Thursday, the logs said.
“Thank you have a good day officer,” Ariel Castro says about 15 minutes later, according to the logs.
