Outrage After Dallas Cop Fatally Shoots Unarmed Black 15-Year-Old Leaving a House Party
A police-involved shooting on Saturday night resulted in the death of 15-year-old in Balch Springs. Jordan Edwards was leaving a party with friends when an officer shot into the car and stuck Edwards. He was transported to a local hospital where he was announced dead.
Edwards was a freshman at Mesquite High School and a straight A student. On Saturday he attended a party that started to get rowdy. As he and some friends got into a car to leave, they were approached by an unidentified Balch Springs, Texas, officer.
According to police, the vehicle backed up towards the officer "in an aggressive manner," said Chief Jonathan Haber. The officer then fired at the vehicle, striking Edwards.
Haber said his police department was initially called to respond to a report of drunken teens. The responding officers claimed to have heard gunshots as they were in pursuit; however, no information about weapons in the vehicle was offered.
Lee Merritt, an attorney who is representing Edwards's family, disputed the officer's claim. According to Merritt, the officer's bullet "entered the passenger side window and shattered it." This contradicts the assertion that the car was backing up towards the officer in an "aggressive manner."
"They're insinuating that the car was backing up and threatened the officer but the injury is not consistent with that story," Merritt said. "The officer was standing right there."
Edwards is the youngest victim of police brutality in 2017
News of Edwards's death was met with severe outrage
