[Photo Gallery] Shaw Street Vigil as Community Mourns for Young Nyah Mway

Family, friends and community members gathered on Saturday in the 900 block of Shaw Street in Utica, the site of a police shooting over the weekend that took the life of a young Utica teen.

13-year-old Nyah Mway was shot and killed by Utica Police during a scuffle on the ground with officers late Friday night, when police say they saw he had a gun. Videos released by Utica Police show officers trying to apprehend the boy during a struggle on the ground when the shot by police was fired. The New York Attorney General's office has announced it is investigating the fatal incident, which is standard policy during a shooting like this. Utica Police say they are also conducting their own investigation of the incident.

On Saturday, following two press conferences held by Mayor Michael Galime and Utica Police, police released an official statement, and a file containing videos including body cams worn by police at the scene during the ground struggle.

"As will be illustrated in the body worn camera (BWC) footage accompanying this release, when the officers asked and went to pat frisk Nyah Mway, he immediately fled on foot.  While fleeing he produced a replica GLOCK pellet gun from the front of his body, and during the 51 and 53 second mark on Officer Patterson’s BWC, points the weapon directly at Officer Patterson and the other officers. 

As in any Officer Involved Shooting investigation it is within the purview of the NYS Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigations to determine whether the shooting violated any state laws; however, we felt it prudent to ensure the entirety of the evidence we have available at this time is shared publicly – keeping with our commitment to transparency."

On Saturday, candles were lit as family, friends and the Utica community gathered for the vigil celebrating the life of the 13-year-old. Later on Saturday, about 100 community members demonstrated in front of the Utica Police Department on Oriskany Street in the city. The photo gallery below was taken by photo journalist, Nancy L. Ford.