Crisis Counselors Respond After Torrey Pines H.S. Student's Fatal Shooting

SAN DIEGO, CA – Crisis response counselors will be at Torrey Pines High School today following the death of a 15-year-old student in an officer-involved shooting in a campus parking lot over the weekend.

Torrey Pines High School staffers will also meet briefly before classes start to address how to assist students during this time, how to respond to media inquiries and answer questions, Principal Rob Coppo said in a statement posted to the school's Facebook page.

"As educators, we touch the lives of thousands of students during our careers, and while we hope and pray to never experience what we are experiencing right now, it is important that we are prepared to serve our students and community in times like these," Coppo said.

"The next few days will be challenging for us all, and over the coming weeks, we will face additional challenges. As a community, we will need to support each other and unite as a Falcon family."

San Dieguito Union High School District Superintendent Eric Dill said crisis response team would be at Torrey Pines High School to "support students, staff, and parents as needed," and counseling services would be available throughout the district.

"As a community, we have a shared responsibility to care for one another," Dill said. "Please rest assured that we will do everything possible to maintain our daily routine while supporting each other as we deal with this sad event."

The name of the boy killed outside the school early Saturday has not been released by police. Coppo said he would also withhold the name the teen along with personal details about him in line with his family's wishes.

Police determined the boy had himself summoned officers to the school on Del Mar Heights Road to check the welfare of a 15-year-old male around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, San Diego police homicide Lt. Mike Holden said.

A pair of arriving officers spotted the teen in a parking lot in front of the school. He pulled what appeared to be a handgun but turned out to be a semi-automatic BB air pistol, from his waistband and pointed it at one of the officers, ignoring orders to drop the weapon, Holden said.

As he began to advance on one of the lawmen, "both officers fired their weapons at the male striking him numerous times," Holden said. He later died in a hospital despite efforts to save his life.

Authorities refrained from immediately labeling the incident a case of suicide-by-cop. The incident was captured on video by body cameras the officers were wearing at the time.

An Arizona civil rights activist Sunday called on the San Diego Police Department to release the body camera video from the shooting.

Rev. Jarrett Maupin of Phoenix made the comments to reporters and attendees at a conference on 21st century civil rights organizing in San Francisco.

"People are shocked, angry, frightened, and already questioning why body-camera footage isn't being made available as soon as possible," Maupin said in a statement distributed to reporters. "This should not happen in America and people want to know if what happened had to happen or if this unfortunate result was in any way avoidable."

Maupin said his office has already been flooded with calls from concerned parents and activists from all over California and other parts of the country.

"This dark moment is an opportunity for police leaders to shed redeeming light. Withholding the body-camera footage is cruel and unusual," Maupin said. "Only the truth will set the community free from the terror of justifiable speculation and uncertainty."

"The purpose of body-camera footage is to provide an objective third party witness to an otherwise tense, volatile, and usually less than transparent interaction between law enforcement and the civilians they encounter on emergency calls," Maupin said, "When departments stall or resist releasing the footage, it can give the appearance of impropriety or a flat-out cover-up. The era we live in demands more information to be released sooner than ever before."

A makeshift memorial that was started Saturday, continued to grow Sunday, as well-wishers left flowers, candles and notes at the edge of the parking lot where the shooting occurred.

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--City News Service/Morguefile