A 17-year-old boy named Antwon Rose was shot and killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer Tuesday night.
Authorities said Antwon was unarmed and had attempted to run away during a traffic stop when he was chased and shot to death.
According to the Allegheny County Police Department who are investigating the shooting, the teenager was shot three times after he “bolted” from a vehicle on foot during the stop.
At 9:19 PM, Rose was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman J. McDonough said on Wednesday that the officer who opened fire has been placed on administrative leave.
A video of the incident was posted on Facebook. It has been covered for showing “violent or graphic content.”
The video shows two men exiting the rear door of a vehicle, and running from the street. Three gunshots can be heard and two men can be seen diving behind a residential building.
The person recording the video can be heard saying, “Why are they shooting at him? Why are they shooting? All they did was run and they’re shooting at them.”
Authorities shared that the shooting was connected to an earlier shooting in a neighbouring borough.
Police received reports of gunshots fired at 8:27 PM in North Braddock and found a wounded 22-year-old man. The man was brought to a local hospital and treated for an abdominal gunshot wound.
Witnesses to that shooting provided a detailed description of a vehicle involved, which was then broadcasted to officers in the area.
The East Pittsburgh officer spotted the vehicle, a silver Chevy Cruz, and conducted a traffic stop. The officer ordered the driver to exit the vehicle and directed him to get on the ground.
Rose was in the car with another passenger. The two fled the vehicle and the shooting occurred. The other passenger has not been identified or located.
Two firearms were found in the car that Rose fled from, though it is unclear if he was the shooter.
KDKA-TV reported that the officer who shot Rose had only been on the job for three weeks and was officially sworn in just hours before the incident.
Attorney S. Lee Merritt released a statement on behalf of the Rose family: “It is difficult to find justification in the shooting of 17-year-old rising senior high school student Antwon Rose II.”
“From all accounts, he was a generous, hard working and highly promising student,” he added.
Attorney Merritt said that any reports of Antwon being involved in the earlier shooting “are unsubstantiated.” He added that Antwon was unarmed and “posed no immediate threat to anyone” when he was shot to death.
“These facts, without more, simply leave very little room to justify the use of deadly force by this officer,” Attorney Merritt said.
Antwon was a high school student in the Woodland Hills School District in North Braddock. He had been volunteering at Free Store 15104, a nonprofit in Braddock, each summer since 2015. Antwon was also a youth volunteer for Duquesne Mayor Nichole Nesby.