This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

The Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday that an officer shot and injured a 15-year-old in the back after spotting him in an alley next to someone who appeared to be aiming a handgun.

The weapon turned out to be a replica firearm, said police department spokesman Cmdr. Andrew Smith. The boy was transported to a local hospital and released after treatment.

“It’s certainly an unfortunate situation,” Smith said. “But because of people bringing replica weapons out like that, it certainly could have been a terrible tragedy.”

Around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, two officers were driving in the 7200 block of 10th Avenue (map) when they spotted a group in an alley. A teenager was pointing what police thought was a gun at another person, Smith said.

Click here to read the full story on LATimes.com.