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24 Dec 2014

Police shoot black teenager near Ferguson

Police shoot dead an 18-year-old black teenager in Berkeley, near Ferguson, after he reportedly pulls out a gun on an officer.

The man, identified on social media as Antonio Martin, was shot by a police officer at a Mobil petrol station on North Hanley Road.

St Louis County Police department said the male pulled out a handgun and pointed it at an officer.

In a statement it said: “At approximately 11.15pm on 23 December a police officer with the City of Berkeley was conducting a routine business check at the Mobile Gas Station located at 6800 N. Hanley when he observed two male subjects on the side of the building.

“The Berkeley Police Officer exited his vehicle and approached the subjects when one of the men pulled a handgun and pointed it at the officer. Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him. The second subject fled the scene.

“At this time, we cannot confirm the identity of the deceased subject. The investigation is on-going and further details will be provided as the investigation proceeds.”

St Louis police chief Jon Belmar said the victim’s body was taken from the scene at 1.30am, more than two hours after the shooting. Belmar said the officer did not have time to fire a Taser at the victim and said that “bad choices were made.”

Police released CCTV footage from the petrol station which shows the moments before the suspect was shot dead by an officer.

Belmar said the footage shows a man raising a gun at an officer. The man was later shot three times by the police officer, but that footage was not released in respect of the family.

Police said detectives had “recovered the deceased subject’s handgun at the scene.”

Berkeley is about two miles from the suburb of Ferguson, where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by a white police officer in August.

When he was trying to get up and run, they start shooting. Toni Martin, mother of Antonio

Witnesses said a crowd of between 60 and 100 people gathered at a police line outside the petrol station.

“They won’t tell me nothing. His girlfriend told me that the police was messing with him,” said Toni Martin, Antonio’s mother.

Last month there were protests in the US and UK over the death of Eric Garner by a white New York City police officer.

Mr Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died on 17 July after police officers attempted to arrest him for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island.