COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Columbus police say a suspect was shot and killed after a report of an armed robbery on the near east side of Columbus.

It happened around 7:45 p.m. near the corner of South 18th Street and East Capital Street.

According to police, the victim told them a group of individuals approached him. One had a gun and demanded money.

Officers in the area saw three men matching the description in front of 33 Hoffman Street and tried to talk to them. Two of the men then ran away and officers followed them to an alley behind 27 Hoffman Street.

When officers tried to take the men into custody, one of the suspects pulled out a gun. One of the officers fired and hit the suspect multiple times. He was taken to Children’s hospital and pronounced dead around 8:30 pm.

The victim has been identified as 13-year-old Tyree King.

Crime Scene Search Unit detectives collected the gun and determined it was a BB gun with an attached laser site.

A neighbor who lives nearby, Chris Naderer says he believes he saw the robbers running away from police.

“We heard some people running through our backyard and kind of a loud boom where our gate is busted,” he says. “We assume that they busted the gate down.”

Naderer says that’s when they looked out the window to see what was going and saw an officer chasing the suspects past their home and into a nearby alley.

“Heard gun shots 5, 10 seconds afterwards,” he says.

According to police, the officer who fired the shots is a nine-year veteran of the force and just recently transferred to the zone where Wednesday night’s shooting happened. The officers involved will receive mandated psychological counseling. No officers were injured.

The shooting and robbery are still under investigation. Anyone with information should call the Columbus Police at 614-645-4624.