Authorities in Sweden have launched an investigation after a 20 year old man was shot whilst carrying a toy machine gun in the early hours of this morning.
The investigation comes after the young man Eric Torell, who was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and a form of autism was gunned down by police officers in what they have described as a threatening situation.
According to the Exepressen newspaper, Mr Torell was shot by three armed police in Stockholm at approximatley 4am this morning after they mistakenly identified the toy gun as a sub-machine gun.
Mr Torell who had speech issues sadly died shortly after the incident in hospital despite attempts to resuscitate him.
It is reported that the 20 year old had been reported missing from his home by his mother Katarina Soderberg who is said to be traumatised by her son’s brutal killing.
Speaking to the Exepressen Ms Soderberg said that she was deeply angry about her son’s killing by stating that he wouldn’t hurt a fly and that he had the mind of a three year old.
The heartbroken mother also told reporters that her son rarely played with the toy but he happened to bring it with him when he left their home.
She also described her son as the kindest person in the world and he would never dream of hurting anyone.
Meanwhile police authorities say they are looking into the incident and they are examining evidence in order to determine if there was any misconduct from the officers involved in the shooting.