Mississippi teen is killed by deputy, state spokesman says

GULFPORT, Miss. – Authorities say a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Mississippi Bureau of Investigation spokesman Warren Strain tells the Sun Herald on Wednesday that Seth William Johnson was killed in the Monday night shooting.

Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson says Johnson had a knife when deputies confronted him on a complaint that he had stolen a vehicle.

Neighbours told the newspaper that Johnson lived with his grandmother at the home where he was shot.

It was unclear if the teen lunged at a deputy or was threatening a family member, or if deputies tried to use less-than-lethal force. Information about the races of those involved in the shooting was not immediately available.

A state investigation continues.

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Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com