Maryland state trooper kills 16-year-old student who held a toy gun A Maryland state trooper shot and killed a 16-year-old white youth in a residential driveway in the Leonardtown area of St. Mary’s County on Tuesday afternoon. Law enforcement officials said the trooper—who was also white—mistook a toy gun held by the teenager for a real weapon. Peyton Ham, an honor student attending an advanced academy at Leonardtown High School, was shot twice by the officer and died at a hospital in the area. The Washington Post reported that a representative of the Maryland State Police said that they received two 911 calls that a male “was acting suspiciously and appeared to have a gun.”