Boy with toy gun shot by police

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A 15-year-old boy who pointed what turned out to be a toy gun at US police officers has been shot and injured north of Los Angeles, officials say.

The boy was shot on Sunday night in Palmdale, about 80km (50 miles) from Los Angeles. He is said to stable.

Officers were responding to reports that someone on a bicycle was brandishing a handgun, officers said.

Police ordered him to drop the weapon but instead he aimed it at them, Deputy Jeff Gordon told reporters.

One of the officers fired a shot and hit the boy in the upper body.

"Later on, they determined it was a juvenile playing cops and robbers," Deputy Ed Hernandez, a sheriff's spokesman said

The toy handgun looked like a black semi-automatic pistol and lacked the orange tip found on most toys to distinguish them from real weapons, Deputy Gordon told the Associated Press.

The boy is in a stable condition in condition and is expected to recover.