Deputy Identified in Shooting of Teen with Fake AK-47

Contributed to gun magazines; had previously shot self in the leg

The Sonoma County sheriff's deputy who gunned down a 13-year-old California boy over a toy gun has been identified.

The Sheriff's office confirmed Sunday to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat that Deputy Erick Gelhaus, 48, fired the shots.

Gelhaus, a 24-year veteran of the office, is also an Iraq War veteran, firearms instructor and contributing writer to gun publications.

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[Fist of Etiquette]

In a 2008 article written by Gelhaus for S.W.A.T. Magazine, the officer warned against hesitation in deciding to use a firearm lethally.

"Today is the day you may need to kill someone in order to go home," he wrote. "If you cannot turn on the 'mean gene' for yourself, who will? If you find yourself in an ambush, in the kill zone, you need to turn on that mean gene."

The mean gene, also known as the cowardice gene.