The policeman said he fired before Deon Kay dropped the gun, which was found about 30 meters from where he fell, police chief Peter Newsham said at a press conference, admitting that “it looks like a long distance to shoot a weapon”.
The teenager was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police arrested two suspects and recovered two firearms and a third suspect managed to escape, the official said.
Deon Kay was “a known member of a neighborhood gang” and had “numerous” criminal records.
On Wednesday night, several dozen protesters protested in front of the police station in the neighborhood where the incident occurred to demand justice over what they see as a new action by excessive use of force by the police.
“In the current climate, not just in Washington but across the country, disinformation can potentially lead to disruption in our city and that is the last thing we want,” said the police chief to justify the spread of the images.
This case comes after months of protests in the United States against police brutality towards the black minority, whose main symbol is George Floyd, an African American asphyxiated by the police in late May in Minneapolis.
MDR // LFS
Lusa / End
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