Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 | 12:24 p.m.
WASHINGTON — District of Columbia police say an officer fatally shot a man brandishing a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun.
Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference that the officer tried to stop the man, who was acting suspiciously, about 2 a.m. Monday, but the man fell as he tried to flee and the gun fell from his clothing. Lanier says the man tried to gain control of the weapon and didn't comply with the officer's commands.
Lanier says the man has not been identified yet. She says he was black and the officer is white. Race has not been raised as a factor in the shooting, but it comes amid a national debate about the deaths of black men at the hands of police.
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