The Noble child was killed by a bullet meant for a wayward snake.

NOBLE (AP) -- Ten days after a police officer accidentally shot and killed a 5-year-old boy, city officials continued to refuse Monday to identify the officer or other officers present at the time of the shooting.

A Noble police officer was trying to shoot what he thought was a rattlesnake in a birdhouse at a house Aug. 3 when Austin Gabriel Haley was hit by the .40-caliber bullet as he stood on a dock at a pond in a wooded area near the house, City Manager Bob Wade said.

Two other officers, including a sergeant, were present at the time of the shooting of what turned out to be a harmless rat snake that is sometimes mistaken for a dangerous snake, he said.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is looking into whether any crime was committed; the Noble Police Department is conducting an internal investigation.

OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown said her agency will not identify the officers involved because no one has been arrested.

Wade said the Noble City Attorney's Office advised him not to identify the officers until any potential disciplinary findings are writ- ten. He said he hopes that the internal investigation is finished in "a couple of weeks."

That inquiry centers on whether Police Department policies were violated.

"We have a use-of-force policy that even has a section that deals with

The city had no animal control officer at the time of the shooting. Still, the officer had options beyond gunfire, Wade said.

"There are all kind of things they might have done," he said. "They could have requested animal control from a nearby town. They could simply have left the snake alone; he probably would have left.

"They might have sent for other equipment more effective in pulling it out or killing it," he said. "I could personally think of a half-dozen things I could do before shooting into the air, if ever, in a residential area."

Police Chief Ben Daves said that with the three officers on administrative leave, Noble has seven officers, including himself, and that they are working overtime to cover all shifts.

He said someone from the department is in daily contact with the three officers, who he said are distraught.