San Bernardino County deputy shoots, kills 15-year-old Ryan Gainer, armed with sharp garden tool

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a 15-year-old boy over the weekend after he charged at law enforcement with a bladed garden tool, according to the department.

The shooting happened shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday after the Apple Valley Police Department responded to a call at a home on the 13400 block of Iroquois Road. There, the caller reported that 15-year-old Ryan Gainer was “actively assaulting family members and damaging property at the residence.”

A responding sheriff’s deputy arrived at the scene and met Gainer, who the department said was armed with a 5-foot-long garden tool that had a sharp-bladed end. According to the sheriff’s department, Gainer ran toward the deputy and chased him while armed. In response, the deputy shot the teenager.

Gainer received medical aid before he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.