A Cleveland boy was killed when he was fatally shot by a police officer who mistook his air gun for the real deal, police said early Sunday.

The shooting, which occurred Saturday afternoon, comes as the nation anxiously awaits the grand jury decision on the police shooting of African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. While the 12-year-old boy killed in Ohio was also black, the attorney for the family assured there was no racial connotations to the shooting.

"This is not a black and white issue. This is a right and wrong issue," attorney Tim Kucharski said.

Police were called to the area after a 911 caller said someone, possibly a juvenile, was pointing a gun at people outside a recreation center.

"There's a guy in there with a pistol, you know, it's probably fake, but he's like pointing it at everybody," the caller said, whose audio was obtained by CNN affiliates. "He's sitting on a swing right now, but he's pulling it in and out of his pants and pointing it at people. He's probably a juvenile, you know?"

Deputy Chief Ed Tomba of the Cleveland Division of Police said that when two officers arrived at the scene, the boy did not point the weapon at them or otherwise threaten them. However, he did reach for the gun, and officers shot.

"The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands, and he went into his waistband and pulled out the weapon," Tomba said.

The boy died early Sunday following surgery at MetroHealth Medical Center, according to the family's attorney.

It was not clear if officers had been told the weapon was not a firearm, officer Ali Pillow told CNN. However, the orange tip indicating the gun was an air gun had been removed. Both officers have been place on leave, according to police.

Tomba defended the officers' actions in what he called a "very, very tragic situation."

The 12-year-old's name has not been released by police.

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