13-year-old boy with autism shot by police after mother called for help

A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after being shot by police in Glendale, Utah, on Friday. 

Linden Cameron suffered injuries to his shoulder, ankles, intestine and bladder, his mother, Golda Barton, told CBS affiliate KUTV.

Barton said she called 911 to request a crisis intervention team because her son, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was having a breakdown. She said authorities are “supposed to come out and be able to deescalate a situation using the most minimal force possible.” 

She told officers that her son needed to be taken from their home to a hospital, KUTV reported. The mother said five minutes after officers arrived that she heard police say “get down on the ground,” and several gunshots.

She said an officer would not immediately tell her whether her son was dead.  

“I said, ‘He’s unarmed, he doesn’t have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming. He’s a kid, he’s trying to get attention, he doesn’t know how to regulate,’ ” Barton said.

AUTISTIC BOY SHOT BY POLICE: The mother of a 13-year-old boy shot by Salt Lake City police is seeking answers as her son was having a mental breakdown. He was unarmed.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/X98K9HEXLQ pic.twitter.com/tgVDvewIJ1

— KUTV2news (@KUTV2News) September 7, 2020

Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Keith Horrocks said in a Saturday press briefing that officers responded to reports of “a juvenile that was having a mental episode, a psychotic episode, that had made threats to some folks with a weapon.”

Horrocks said Cameron ran from officers before being shot. The shooting will be investigated by the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The sergeant said Saturday that police had not confirmed the presence of a weapon. 

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a Sunday statement that “While the full details of this incident are yet to be released as an investigation takes place, I will say that I am thankful this young boy is alive and no one else was injured.”

“No matter the circumstances, what happened on Friday night is a tragedy and I expect this investigation to be handled swiftly and transparently for the sake of everyone involved,” Mendenhall said, KUTV reported. 

The incident happened on the first day that Barton returned to work in a year. The mother said her son suffers from separation anxiety. 

“He’s a small child. Why didn’t you just tackle him? You are big police officers with massive amounts of resources. Come on, give me a break,” Barton said.