A 13-year-old boy was shot and wounded by a Baltimore police officer on Wednesday afternoon. Police Commissioner Kevin Davis claims that two plain clothes officers spotted him wielding what turned out to be a “replica gun” from their unmarked vehicle.

“They identified themselves as police officers to this young man, [and] the young man took off on foot with the gun in his hand,” Davis said, according to the Washington Post. 

The officers reportedly pursued the teenager for about 150 yards before one of them opened fire. The teen is expected to survive and is being treated for wounds to the lower half of his body.

“Come on, this what we are supposed to do. That’s what cops do,” Davis said, while defending the actions of his officers.

Davis was fully aware of the timing of the incident, coming exactly one year after Freddie Gray was buried after dying in police custody.

“Today is an important day. It is not lost on me what April 27th means to this city what it means to this police department,” Davis said. “Anybody walking down the street with a real gun or a replica handgun in his or her hands poses a public safety threat to our community.”

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