POLICE IN TEXAS shot dead a 15-year-old boy because he would not drop an airgun in his school hallway, officers have said.

Jaime Gonzalez was apparently brandishing a pellet gun which closely resembled a real firearm at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville, Texas. He was declared dead at around 9.15am yesterday morning.

Police said they fired “at least twice” when he “pointed the weapon at officers”, the Houston Chronicle reports.

But Jaime’s family have demanded to know why it was necessary to use lethal force.

“Why was so much excess force used on a minor?” the boy’s father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., told The Associated Press outside the family’s home Wednesday night. “Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?”

Interim Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez said the teen was pointing the weapon at officers and “had plenty of opportunities to lower the gun and listen to the officers’ orders, and he didn’t want to.”

Shortly before the confrontation, Jaime had walked into a classroom and punched a boy in the nose for no apparent reason, Rodriguez said.

Police are currently awaiting results of an autopsy, CBS reports.

- Additional reporting from AP