Parents ask why Texas police killed 8th-grade son carrying pellet gun

[Dave]

Did the police overreact to the situation? Hard to say. This is one of those cases where you almost have to see video of the event to know if the police reacted accordingly. In the heat of the moment, it can understandably be tough to know if the weapon in question is a real hand gun or just a pellet gun. From what I understand, the kid was told at least a few times to drop the gun and refused to do so, so the officers did what they believed to be the right thing. IF that is what happened, I don't think I could find fault with their actions... again though, I'd probably have to see video of the event to be sure.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The parents of an eighth-grader who was fatally shot by police inside his South Texas school are demanding to know why officers took lethal action, but police said the boy was brandishing - and refused to drop - what appeared to be a handgun and that the officers acted correctly.

The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun that closely resembled the real thing, police said late Wednesday, several hours after 15-year-old Jaime Gonzalez was repeatedly shot in a hallway at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville. No one else was injured.

"Why was so much excess force used on a minor?" the boy's father, Jaime Gonzalez Sr., asked The Associated Press outside the family's home Wednesday night. "Three shots. Why not one that would bring him down?"

His mother, Noralva Gonzalez, showed off a photo on her phone of a beaming Jaime in his drum major uniform standing with his band instructors. Then she flipped through three close-up photos she took of bullet wounds in her son's body, including one in the back of his head.

"What happened was an injustice," she said angrily. "I know that my son wasn't perfect, but he was a great kid."

Interim Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez said the teen was pointing the weapon at officers and "had plenty of opportunities to lower the gun and listen to the officers' orders, and he didn't want to."

The chief said his officers had every right to do what they did to protect themselves and other students even though there weren't many others in the hallway at the time. Police said officers fired three shots.

Shortly before the confrontation, Jaime had walked into a classroom and punched a boy in the nose for no apparent reason, Rodriguez said. Police did not know why he pulled out the weapon, but "we think it looks like this was a way to bring attention to himself," Rodriguez said.

About 20 minutes elapsed between police receiving a call about an armed student and shots being fired, according to police and student accounts. Authorities declined to share what the boy said before he was shot.

The shooting happened during first period at the school in Brownsville, a city at Texas' southern tip just across the Mexican border. Teachers locked classroom doors and turned off lights, and some frightened students dove under their desks. They could hear police charge down the hallway and shout for Gonzalez to drop the weapon, followed by several shots.

Two officers fired three shots, hitting Gonzalez at least twice, police said.

David A. Dusenbury, a retired deputy police chief in Long Beach, Calif., who now consults on police tactics, said the officers were probably justified.

If the boy were raising the gun as if to fire at someone, "then it's unfortunate, but the officer certainly would have the right under the law to use deadly force."

A recording of police radio traffic posted on KGBT-TV's website indicates that officers responding to the school believed the teen had a handgun. An officer is heard describing the teen's clothes and appearance, saying he's "holding a handgun, black in color." The officer also said that from the front door, he could see the boy in the school's main office.

Less than two minutes later, someone yells over the radio "shots fired" and emergency crews are asked to respond. About two minutes later, someone asks where the boy was shot, prompting responses that he was shot in the chest and "from the back of the head."

Administrators said the school would be closed today but students would be able to attend classes at a new elementary school that isn't being used.

Superintendent Carl Montoya remembered Gonzalez as "a very positive young man."

"He did music. He worked well with everybody. Just something unfortunately happened today that caused his behavior to go the way it went. So I don't know," he said Wednesday.

Gonzalez Sr. said he had no idea where his son got the gun or why he brought it to school, adding: "We wouldn't give him a gift like that."

He said he last saw his son around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, when the boy said goodbye before leaving to catch the bus to school. And he said nothing seemed amiss the night before when he, his wife and their son went out for nachos then went home and watched a movie.

Gonzalez Sr. was struggling to reconcile the day's events, saying his son seemed to be doing better in school and was always helpful around the neighborhood mowing neighbors' lawns, washing dogs and carrying his toolbox off to fix other kids' bikes.

Two dozen of his son's friends and classmates gathered in the dark street outside the family's home Wednesday night. Jaime's best friend, 16-year-old Star Rodriguez, said her favorite memory was when Jaime came to her party Dec. 29 and they danced and sang together.

"He was like a brother to me," she said.

Associated Press writers Diana Heidgerd and Danny Robbins in Dallas, and Mike Graczyk in Houston contributed to this story.

[Willy]

I have to agree with Dave. If the kid pointed his pistol at the officers and gave the intention that he was going to fire then the officer did what they were trained to do. They may have fired to wound him but if the kid was moving the bullets couldn't know where to land.  Until the entire story comes out all we have to go on is speculation. The police had no way of knowing what the kid was going to do.

[Sweater Cows!]

what sort of trained police officer does not have the ability to distinguish between a pellet gun and a real gun. all they need to do is look at the end of the barrel and if the hole is tiny it is obviously not a real gun.

[easymoney]

If you've ever had the god awful experience of looking down the barrel of a gun , it may suprise you. A small caliber 9mm looks like a cannon. I also doubt very much they were close enough to distinguish the barrel size.

When a weapon is pointed in your direction, you don't have time to size up whether that weapon is a toy, or a real gun. A split second could mean the difference between life or death. Anyone with firearm experience knows you don't point a weapon unless you are willing to use it.

 

[XLFD]

I agree, Easymoney, that at the distance they were, they couldn't get a reasonable gauge of the gun's gauge.  The air pistol looked authentic, and Jaime had failed to put it down despite the police presence. 

The family sounds as if they are going to press for a complete investigation, and it is being investigated by the Texas Rangers, as well.  Not the baseball team.

[AQUAMAN]

We all know there should be some kind of video available soon, or is there? Either way, I'm glad the Tx. Rangers are going to investigate. And until all the facts are known, I ask any of you, if it was your son that got killed this senselessly, would you still agree with the police actions known to date? Any and all people with a carry permit know the responsibility of handling, firing, and shooting to wound or kill with the weapon at their disposal. This is magnified many times over for actual Police and authorities in this job. I stand by my "guns" that the police made judgment errors on this case, and sooner or later, all the facts will have to come out for a clear perspective of the matter. Common sense dictates that defusing the situation wasn't tried, or tried hard enough. I just wonder how old and experienced these officers were at their jobs, certainly sounds like young cowboys, not mature seasoned men with many years of experience in this sort of matters. An eighth grader, no more than what, age 13-14, intimidating seasoned pro's with a pellet gun, c'mon guys, use your noggins on this one. Something is amiss.

[Dave]

I don't know if police are trained to 'wound' first, kill later. It seems like in my talks with officer friends over the year that if its a situation with a gun that they shoot to defend themselves and are going to aim first toward a person midsection/chest area as its the biggest section. If the situation had been with a knife instead of a gun, I think the methods you suggested would be more inclined to be use such as a taser, simply for the fact that a knife while lethal is a lot less lethal then a gun. Hopefully there will be video of the event available of the event and we'll be able to see what exactly went on... see if the shooting was warranted or not.

[AQUAMAN]

The youth, Jaime, is now claimed to be age 15. Some youtubes are also claiming his last words to police were," I don't want to die". Some youtubes also claim the police rushed at full speed running to the scene in the hallway where the boy was, only to shout at him, then start firing, without trying to defuse the situation, and control the outcome. When you think someone has a real gun in a closed deadend hallway, do you rush them at full speed, or take precautions to protect yourself and enter with caution and care to see what the matter is? The kid never fired the pellet gun at anyone, let alone the police. He was said to be mumbling in answering the police, however, apparently they did not take the time to listen. Blazing gunfire in a school like this could have easily injured other bystanders, ricochets could have also killed a teacher/student nearby. Sorry, but as the evidence stands so far, I still say judgment errors are in serious question by authorities.

[AQUAMAN]

The main thing, in this politically correct society, is to agree to agree with warped evidence so far, and let the Police's story make sense, that of Killing a kid, a 15 year old juvenile, so that they get praise, and honor, for a second degree murder. That's the put-up story, how many are going to believe it, or try to think outside the box otherwise? I for one am going to question this till ALL the evidence is proven. Until then, as Police Chief, I would suspend and cancel all payments of salaries of those particular officers, until the facts come out, and let the Cowboys get Cooled Off. Spraying with Fire Hoses Optional.

[XLFD]

I looked over some of the news stories, and haven't yet actually seen a schematic on where the players of this dramatic tragedy were located and what precisely the police did.  The police are preparing for potential repercussions by not disclosing what all happened, and I think Aquaman's conclusions are sound for a reasonable person. 

Not that I'm 100% certain that he is a reasonable person; I know who he backed in this last city election cycle, LOL.

[Willy]

The kid was probably fully grown at 15. How were the police to know if he was a student or an intruder. The job of the police is to protect the students and personal in the school and that was their primary goal.  I think some expect to much from the police who probably only had a split second to react. I will be interested to see what transpired when the full story in revealed.

[Lisa O'Brien]

I agree, after the fact it is easy to pick apart the scenario and find different ways to react - but the fact is the kid took a gun to school and would not drop it when told by police. Of course he got shot - the police's responsibility was not the safety of the gunmen but that of the innocent children and personnel in the building. If the gun had turned out to be real and he shot an innocent bystander everyone would be in an uproar because the police had not done enough to protect the innocent bystanders.  It is tragic and I do feel for his family but there is no reason to take a gun fake or real to school and at 15 he should have known this.

[Dave]

Agreed... regardless of the outcome, what the kid did to begin with was wrong. At his age I simply can't believe he didn't know that it was wrong to do what he did. Always bugs me when people will say that well so and so was to young to know what he/she was really doing.. unless they are like 3 years old or something, there has to be some expectation of knowing the difference between right and wrong... if your in high school, you know what the difference is (and I'm not saying that this is the case in this particular situation... just in some situations I've heard about).

Anyhow, I'm not sure if there is much more we can say about this until we hear what the outcome of the full investigation is.