Police shoot dead teenager during traffic stop in North Dakota

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North Dakota police shot and killed a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in a Bismark mall car park.

Officers in Bismarck responded to gunfire in the city in the early hours of Sunday and say they identified Nicholas Bruington as a suspect in a shooting incident.

Police say they stopped a car in which Bruington was a passenger in the city’s Kirkwood Mall parking lot at around 1.50am.

Burlington “had a firearm and did not follow commands” and was shot by three officers at the scene, BPD said in a statement. It is not clear if he raised his weapon towards the officers, none of whom were injured.

They performed life-saving procedures on the suspect who was then taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

All three officers, who have not been identified by BPD, have been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Burlington was suspected of shooting at another minor, who was not injured, according to police.

He was enrolled in Bismarck Public Schools for a week last year but was not currently enrolled in the city’s schools.

The incident was the first fatal police shooting in the city since January 2020, according to Lt Luke Gardiner.