A 12-year-old boy carrying a pellet gun that looked like a real firearm was ordered three times to show his hands before he was fatally shot by an officer, Cleveland police said yesterday as they released surveillance video of the confrontation and identified the officers involved.

The shooting dead of a 12-year-old boy by police in Cleveland, Ohio after brandishing what turned out to be a replica gun has sparked an investigation into his death and a call from State Rep Alicia Reece of Cincinnati to call for such weapons to be brightly coloured or bear special markings.

A 12-year-old boy brandishing what turned out to be a replica gun died today after he was shot by a US police officer responding to an emergency call about a person waving a gun in a park.

A US man has appeared in court on charges of rape and kidnapping days after three women missing for about a decade were found alive at his home.