Police shot and killed an armed teen in the South Bronx early today after the suspect chased and shot at another man, then refused to drop his gun, police said.
Two rookie cops heard shots fired near East 151st Street and Courtlandt Avenue around 3 a.m. and ran in the direction of fire, police said. The uniformed officers saw Shaaliver Douse, 14, of the South Bronx, chasing another person through the streets, according to cops.
Douse, who was arrested in May on attempted murder charges for shooting a 15-year-old, fired at the man running on East 151st Street this morning, police said.
Two rookie cops, assigned to the high-crime area on an Impact team, just months after graduating police academy, identified themselves as police officers and told Douse to drop the gun, according to an NYPD statement..
Douse refused and one of the officers fired one round, striking the gunman in the jaw, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators recovered a blood-spattered Astra A 100 9mm semi-automatic handgun at the scene, cops said.
No one else was injured, according to police.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly dismissed suggestions that the cops should have wounded the boy instead of killing him.
“You shoot to stop. You can’t shoot to wound. That only happens in Western movies,” Kelly said at a press conference at NYPD headquarters.
“Regardless of the circumstances, this is a crushing blow to any parent,” he said.
Asked if Douse was the youngest person to be fatally shot by a cop, Kelly replied, "I don't recall any other at this juncture. There may have been, I just don't recall."
Douse's family was furious.
“They're making it all up,” said his aunt, Quwana Barcene. “There was no gun. It’s all a cover-up. It’s what the police do. They kill us and cover it up.
“It’s not fair. It was my sister’s only child. You shouldn’t have to bury your child. My beautiful nephew got shot in the head. A mother of one now has to bury her only child.”
Douse was slain yards from Alfred E. Smith HS, where relatives said he went to school.
The two officers, ages 26 and 27, were taken to Jacobi Hospital for ringing in the ears and trauma, police said.
Douse had a court appearance scheduled for Aug. 23, for weapons possession, records show.
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