BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Three teens were arrested after police said they set up a man trying to buy an iPhone, robbing him with a sawed-off shotgun.
The three boys--aged 13, 14, and 16--were all charged with armed robbery by means of a shotgun.
"Thank God we were able to get these young kids," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told WBZ-TV. "But it's troubling, obviously, when you see these young kids in possession of a shotgun, which is more troubling than anything."
Boston Police said the teens used Facebook to arrange a meeting with a man under the pretense of selling an iPhone.
But when they met the man on Chipman Street Saturday night, police said, they brandished the shotgun, took his money, and ran.
"People want to sell phones, or sneakers, and sometimes they're set up," Evans told WBZ-TV.
Officers investigating the robbery were able to find the three boys at a nearby Norfolk Street address and arrest them.
On the Boston Police blog, Evans said it's troubling to arrest boys this young, but added he hopes it will serve as a "wake up call."
"As a police department, we never like to see teenagers in the system, but we can also use this as an opportunity to work with the community to get them the help they need to get on the right path," he said.
The three teens are due in Dorchester Juvenile Court Monday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports