'He Just Shot That Boy for Running': Traffic Stop Turns Fatal

No weapon was found on teen's body
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 20, 2018 3:35 PM CDT
Cop Fatally Shoots Unarmed Teen Boy Fleeing Traffic Stop
This area on Grandview Ave. shown on Wednesday, June 20, 2018, is where witnesses say some boys fled from a traffic stop during a confrontation late Tuesday, in East Pittsburgh, Pa. Witnesses say a police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old in the incident.   (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

A police officer fatally shot a 17-year-old boy just seconds after he fled from a traffic stop late Tuesday in a confrontation partly captured on video from a nearby home, the AP reports. Investigators said Wednesday that the car stopped in the town of East Pittsburgh matched the description of a vehicle being sought in a nonfatal shooting in a town a few miles away. An East Pittsburgh officer, who has not been identified, was taking the driver into custody when the two passengers, including 17-year-old Antwon Rose, fled the car. Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough said Rose was shot three times. A report from the medical examiner confirmed that Rose had died at a local hospital but did not say where he was struck or the cause of death. McDonough said police found two semi-automatic handguns on the floor of the car.

In the video, which was posted to Facebook, the teens can be seen dashing from the car. Three shots ring out, and both passengers appear to either duck or fall to the ground as they pass behind a house. A woman yells, asking why an officer shot the boy for running. No shots were fired at the officers during the encounter, and no weapon was found on Rose's body, said McDonough. Debra Jones, who recorded the video and whose voice is heard on it, says that when the two passengers took off, "that officer didn't try to chase them or taze them. He just shot that boy for running. I looked out my kitchen window and they were putting him in handcuffs. He wasn't moving. I think that boy died right there on the side of my house." County police were called in to conduct an independent investigation, which is standard procedure, McDonough said. He said the officer has been placed on administrative leave.

(More police shooting stories.)

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