A lot of questions are being asked in the heartbreaking aftermath of a Saturday night police shooting that left an unarmed 15-year-old boy dead. Jordan Edwards was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with four friends who were trying to leave a party as police officers pulled up.
The party took place in a Dallas suburb called Balch Springs. Police Chief Jonathan Haber said police had been responding to a call about underage drinking when they reported they’d heard gunshots. The details leading to the the shooting were not immediately clear, but Haber claims the car had backed towards the officers in “an aggressive manner” before they opened fire. Edwards was struck and died on the way to the hospital.
Neighbor tells us house party that 15-y-o Jordan Edwards left was crowded w/ unsupervised drunk teens fighting before gunshots fired pic.twitter.com/Efpt75JHjt
— Gabriel Roxas (@gabriel__roxas) May 1, 2017
“On behalf of the entire Balch Springs Police Department, and the city of Balch Springs we express our deep, sincere condolences to the family,” Haber said Sunday. “We will continue to reach out to the parents and keep them informed as we move forward from this point.”
#JordanEdwards. He was 15. There are no words. #StopKillingBlackPeople. https://t.co/ZX5OoixiKY
— Women's March (@womensmarch) May 1, 2017
Edwards’ family attorney Lee Merritt disputed the officers’ account, telling Buzzfeed News that witnesses didn’t hear any gunshots until after Edwards had been killed, and noting that Edwards and his friends were leaving the party because they believed things were getting out of hand. He also noted that the officers’ story of the car “backing up in an aggressive manner” didn’t line up with the gunshot itself, which shattered the side window, not the rear. “They’re insinuating that the car was backing up and threatened the officer but the injury is not consistent with that story,” Merritt told Buzzfeed News. “The officer was standing right there.”
