Texas Officer Fatally Shoots 15-Year-Old Sitting In Car: Police

BALCH SPRINGS, TX — A 15-year-old boy was killed when a police officer shot him as he was leaving a party Saturday night, police say. An officer shot at the vehicle through the passenger window, fatally striking the boy.

Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old black teen who was a freshman at Mesquite High School, was the victim, according to family attorney Lee Merritt. Police were responding to a call about drunken teens around 11 p.m. when they heard gunshots, according to Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber. The incident occurred around the 12300 block of Baron Drive.

Here is a video depicting Chief Haber speaking to press and attorney Lee Merritt speaking about the incident:

The officers' handling of the incident did not meet the core values of the Balch Springs Police Department, Haber said.

Haber said there was an "unknown altercation" with a vehicle that was backing down the road towards the officers "in an aggressive manner," and an officer shot at the vehicle, striking the front-seat passenger. Edwards was taken to the hospital after the shooting and was pronounced dead. Haber said he had no information on whether any weapons were found in the vehicle.

Haber offered his condolences to Edwards' family. "On behalf of the entire Balch Springs Police Department, and the city of Balch Springs we express our deep, sincere condolences to the family," he said.

The Dallas County District Attorney's Office and the Dallas County Sheriff's Department have taken over the criminal investigation, according to Dallas News.

Merritt said the family is asking for the officer to be arrested and charged. At this point, the unidentified officer who fired the deadly shots is on administrative leave.

Merritt is challenging the claim that the vehicle Edwards was in was approaching the officers aggressively and said Edwards and his friends were not the cause of the disturbance to which the police initially responded.

UPDATE: NPR reported this afternoon that the release of body camera footage show that the vehicle Edwards was in had stopped backing toward the officers and was driving away from the scene as the deadly shot was fired.

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