The 18-year-old Carnell Snell had a gun when he was shot and killed by Los Angeles, California police on Saturday, according to security camera video released by the LAPD. Snell is the third black man killed by police in southern California in five days.
Footage from the security camera “clearly shows” Snell holding a pistol in his right hand, said LAPD chief Charlie Beck on Tuesday morning, ahead of a police commission meeting.
Snell was shot and killed on Saturday, after running away from a car that LAPD officers pulled over because it had paper license plates. Officers believed the vehicle was stolen, according to Beck.
Snell was shot and killed on Saturday during a traffic stop. He was in the back seat of the car that LAPD officers pulled over because it had paper license plates. Officers believed the vehicle was stolen, according to Beck.
"At one point during their foot pursuit, which was 200 to 300 yards in total, they observed him remove a handgun from his waistband and hold it in his left hand," Beck said. "He ran into a driveway in the 1700 block of 107th Street and while holding the handgun in his left hand, he turned in the direction of the pursuing officers, at which time an officer-involved shooting occurred."
Snell was struck by two bullets, one in the upper body and one in the knee, according to the coroner’s office.
“We got a phone call that said the police shot him five times in the back," Monique Morgan, Snell's mother, told KABC.
None of the officers involved wore body cameras, Beck said. The video was obtained from a store security camera.
The gun found near Snell’s body had not been fired.
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Snell was the third African-American man to die in confrontation with Southern California police in less than a week, according to KNBC. A day earlier, Reginald Thomas died after being Tasered by officers in Pasadena, north of Los Angeles. Thomas was armed with a knife, and had a history of violence, according to his family. Last Tuesday, Alfred Olango was shot and killed in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, after he reportedly took a “shooting stance” and pointed what turned out to be a 4-inch electronic cigarette at an officer.