A 14-year-old St. Paul boy was struck and killed by a freight train Friday morning, police said Monday.

Abdiarahman Hassan was hit about 5:30 a.m. east of Snelling Avenue near Pierce Butler Route, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a police spokesman.

The train was traveling about 16 miles per hour and applied its emergency brakes when Hassan was spotted, but it struck the boy, police said.

Hassan, who had autism, had been reported missing from his family's East Side home earlier that morning. Ernster said police and firefighters were looking for him when police received a call about a person on the train tracks at Western and Como avenues. Police did not find anyone there, Ernster said.

Authorities later received a call about the accident; Hassan was dead at the scene. Ernster said it's unclear whether Hassan was the person in the earlier call, but said it was likely because it's unusual for someone to be seen on the tracks.

Hassan had a history of leaving his home, Ernster said.