Originally published: August 4, 2013 1:38 PM
Updated: August 4, 2013 7:57 PM
By IVAN PEREIRA. amNewYork
Photo credit: New York Daily News | New York City police investigate the scene of a police-involved shooting in the Bronx that left 14-year-old Shaaliver Douse dead after being shot by a New York City police officer. (Aug. 4, 2013)
Two rookie police officers on foot patrol fatally shot a 14-year-old boy in the Bronx early Sunday after the teen opened fire on another male outside a deli, police officials said.
Shaaliver Douse, of the Bronx, was chasing another male while firing at him from a 9-mm handgun near East 151st Street and Courtlandt Avenue around 3 a.m. when the officers, who took cover between parked cars, ordered him to "drop the gun," police and a witness said.
But Douse fired again -- it's unclear whether he was shooting at the male he was chasing or the police. The officers, who were about 40 feet away, ordered him to drop the weapon a second time. When he didn't, police said, at least one of the officers fired and struck him in his lower left jaw. Douse was pronounced dead at the scene.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly offered his condolences to the teen's mother, Shanise Farar, at a late afternoon news conference where he also defended his officers.
"Regardless of the circumstances, this is a crushing blow to any parent," said Kelly.
Douse fired four shots in all, police said, and ballistics investigators recovered three shells outside the deli and one near Douse's body. All four shells matched. The male that Douse was pursuing ran from the scene and had not been located Sunday, police said.
The commissioner said police are "actively investigating" the possibility that the initial shooting was gang related.
"We have someone armed with a gun aiming at someone else," Kelly said. "A shot is fired in that street. I think they did what any officer would do."
Danilo Batista, 56, who lives across the street from the shooting scene, said he witnessed the officers ducking between two parked cars and yelling at Douse to drop the gun.
"I heard the police ask him to disarm himself," Bastista said of Douse. "He was chasing another kid."
Batista said the officers were part of a 4-month-old intensified police foot patrol in what he said was a gang-infested area.
Police had arrested Douse in a May 16 shooting of what a source described as a rival gang member at a gas station in the Bronx. Police had charged Douse as an adult in the May shooting that occurred near Boston Road and Jefferson Place.
But witnesses did not want to cooperate, so the Bronx District Attorney didn't bring charges.
"There was not enough evidence to proceed with the case," said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the district attorney's office. "The witness could not identify the assailant."
The case from May is still open and under investigation, Reed said.
The officers -- men ages 26 and 27 -- joined the force in January. Police identified neither officer. Kelly said the 26-year-old officer struck Douse. They were taken to Jacobi Medical Center to be treated for ringing in the ears and trauma.
Family and friends gathered at Douse's Washington Avenue building early Sunday afternoon, refusing to talk with reporters. A single white candle was lit in the building entryway.
Detectives combed through the scene much of Sunday, once breaking up a group of about 20 teens gathering at the shooting site.
Batista said the police foot patrols were good for the neighborhood and aimed toward "getting the delinquents off the street."
With Maria Alvarez,
Anthony M. DeStefano,
Sheila Feeney and Nicole Fuller
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Updated: August 4, 2013 7:57 PM
By IVAN PEREIRA. amNewYork
Photo credit: New York Daily News | New York City police investigate the scene of a police-involved shooting in the Bronx that left 14-year-old Shaaliver Douse dead after being shot by a New York City police officer. (Aug. 4, 2013)
Two rookie police officers on foot patrol fatally shot a 14-year-old boy in the Bronx early Sunday after the teen opened fire on another male outside a deli, police officials said.
Shaaliver Douse, of the Bronx, was chasing another male while firing at him from a 9-mm handgun near East 151st Street and Courtlandt Avenue around 3 a.m. when the officers, who took cover between parked cars, ordered him to "drop the gun," police and a witness said.
But Douse fired again -- it's unclear whether he was shooting at the male he was chasing or the police. The officers, who were about 40 feet away, ordered him to drop the weapon a second time. When he didn't, police said, at least one of the officers fired and struck him in his lower left jaw. Douse was pronounced dead at the scene.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly offered his condolences to the teen's mother, Shanise Farar, at a late afternoon news conference where he also defended his officers.
"Regardless of the circumstances, this is a crushing blow to any parent," said Kelly.
Douse fired four shots in all, police said, and ballistics investigators recovered three shells outside the deli and one near Douse's body. All four shells matched. The male that Douse was pursuing ran from the scene and had not been located Sunday, police said.
The commissioner said police are "actively investigating" the possibility that the initial shooting was gang related.
"We have someone armed with a gun aiming at someone else," Kelly said. "A shot is fired in that street. I think they did what any officer would do."
Danilo Batista, 56, who lives across the street from the shooting scene, said he witnessed the officers ducking between two parked cars and yelling at Douse to drop the gun.
"I heard the police ask him to disarm himself," Bastista said of Douse. "He was chasing another kid."
Batista said the officers were part of a 4-month-old intensified police foot patrol in what he said was a gang-infested area.
Police had arrested Douse in a May 16 shooting of what a source described as a rival gang member at a gas station in the Bronx. Police had charged Douse as an adult in the May shooting that occurred near Boston Road and Jefferson Place.
But witnesses did not want to cooperate, so the Bronx District Attorney didn't bring charges.
"There was not enough evidence to proceed with the case," said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the district attorney's office. "The witness could not identify the assailant."
The case from May is still open and under investigation, Reed said.
The officers -- men ages 26 and 27 -- joined the force in January. Police identified neither officer. Kelly said the 26-year-old officer struck Douse. They were taken to Jacobi Medical Center to be treated for ringing in the ears and trauma.
Family and friends gathered at Douse's Washington Avenue building early Sunday afternoon, refusing to talk with reporters. A single white candle was lit in the building entryway.
Detectives combed through the scene much of Sunday, once breaking up a group of about 20 teens gathering at the shooting site.
Batista said the police foot patrols were good for the neighborhood and aimed toward "getting the delinquents off the street."
With Maria Alvarez,
Anthony M. DeStefano,
Sheila Feeney and Nicole Fuller
User rating:3
(9) Click to rate