Nov 13, 2007 12:05 am US/Eastern
Sources: Cops Gun Down Unarmed Brooklyn Teen
Tell CBS 2 HD Man Was Carrying Only Hairbrush
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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There are many questions still to be answered as to why an apparently unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down by police in Brooklyn on Nov. 12.
CBS
A teenager in a dispute with his mother was shot and killed by police officers when he charged at them with what they thought was a gun but later turned out to be a hair brush, authorities said.
Officers received a 911 call from the teen's mother around 7 p.m., police spokesman Paul Browne said. The 911 operator could hear the teen yelling in the background during the call claiming he had a gun, Browne said.
When officers arrived at the Bedford-Stuyvesant home, they could see the 18-year-old pacing around inside. The mother was outside.
The son began screaming from the window at his mother and officers before climbing out of the window and beginning to cross a sidewalk toward the officers holding a black object in his hand, police said.
The officers backed up and ordered him to stop, Browne said. When the teen refused and kept approaching them, they opened fire, he said.
The son was struck by gunfire and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. His identity wasn't immediately released.
Investigators later discovered the object the teen was holding was a hand brush, Browne said. It was not immediately clear how many shots were fired by officers, he said.
Browne said the teen's mother had attempted to have him hospitalized earlier on Monday, before the dispute that ended in the fatal shooting. He said the teen had a history of mental illness.
Please stay with CBS 2 HD and wcbstv.com for more on this developing story.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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