ATLANTA — A family says when their loved one ran from police, it shouldn’t have ended with officers killing him.
Police say a man pulled a weapon, and that’s why they shot him.
Family members identified the man as Damario Smith, 23. They rushed to the scene after hearing police had shot and killed their loved one at the Citgo gas station.
“I just got a call that the police shot and killed my nephew, and we came,” Smith’s Aunt, Paulette Smith, told Channel 2’s Tom Jones.
They were obviously emotional, and it was a tense scene as they tried to find out what happened.
“I want to know what happened, for sure. Like, I want to know exactly what happened and what caused them to open fire on him,” Paulette Smith said.
Jones asked Fulton County police what happened.
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Maj. Ken Schierle with the Fulton County Police said it’s a known area for drug activity.
They say they saw a man run from the scene, jump in his car and rev the engine, and then reach down.
Police say they ordered him to get out of the car and put his hands up.
“He did not comply, the officers discharged their firearms,” Schierle said.
The man was killed.
Video posted on social media shows a man running from police. You hear officers say, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.”
Then you hear gunshots.
Smith’s family called it murder and said it made no sense to kill him.
“If he was even running, then that’s not causing you to shoot him,” Paulette Smith said.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate.
Fulton County police said three of its officers opened fire on the suspect.
People are asked to avoid the area as traffic is backed up, as officers continue their investigation.
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