Police in St. Louis say they chased an 18-year-old man down a street until he stopped, placed a gun against his face and shot himself dead.
But witnesses say police shot the man, who has been identified as Amonderez Green, only to later claim he had shot himself.
And although several people were recording, there does not appear to be a video of the actual shooting.
However, one video captures audio of the man’s mother exclaiming, “don’t shoot my baby,” following by a single gunshot.
Then a man can be heard yelling, “don’t kill me, please, oh God!”.
And several video surfaced online of witnesses saying he did not shoot himself along of one video showing his distraught mother asking for her son.
The shooting took place Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Normandy, a municipality just south of Ferguson, where the Green was said to be from.
St. Louis County police issued the following statement:
On 10/28/2015 at approximately 2:00 pm, Normandy Police Officers responded to the 5800 block of Bermuda Drive for a report of a suicidal subject. The individual was being followed by members of his family, who were seeking police and medical intervention.
Normandy officers made contact with this individual, an 18 year old male, in that area, and attempted to open a dialogue with him. The male was uncooperative with the officers and members of his family, and continued walking into the 7700 block of Ellington.
Normandy officers exited their patrol vehicles and again attempted to speak with the individual at which time the male retrieved a handgun from his waist band and began firing shots at the officers.
A Normandy officer deployed their less lethal department issued taser which was ineffective. Officers returned fire, however it appears at this time the male was not struck by law enforcement gunfire. The individual fled through the rear yards on Ellington into the 7700 block of Paddington.
Officers in pursuit of the male momentarily lost sight of him, however, heard one additional gunshot.
As officers turned the corner, they observed the male lying on the ground unresponsive and immediately began rendering first aid. The male was transported to an area hospital where he is in critical condition. Normandy police recovered a handgun lying next to the subject at the scene.
The Normandy Police Department requested the Saint Louis County Police Department’s Bureau Crimes Against Persons to conduct the investigation.
Sergeant Brian Schellman
Public Information Coordinator
St. Louis County Police Department
However, witnesses are claiming that it was Ferguson police who shot the man, not Normandy.
It appears as if both agencies responded to the call of a suicidal man, perhaps jumping on the opportunity for a free kill.
The Huffington Post was on scene and interviewed a couple of witnesses:
A woman who says she witnessed the shooting, but asked to remain anonymous due to concerns about safety and the potential repercussions of speaking publicly, told HuffPost that she saw two officers on the scene with the teenager.
Looking out her window, the witness said she saw the man — who was wearing a red, orange and yellow jacket — turn to face the officers, who were just six or seven feet away from him, when one of the cops shot him in the face.
“We heard approximately six gunshots ring out. I yelled and told my daughter to get down,” she said.
“He was right at eye level as [the officer] shot him,” the witness continued. “It was not a suicide. At all.”
Dominique Clemons, who says she witnessed the incident from about three houses up the street, also told HuffPost that the police shot the man.
“While he was running, he turned around to face the police and that’s when he got shot in the face. I saw his body drop. They shot him in the face, his whole right side of his face was gone, his top lip was gone.”
In a video of the scene, a gunshot can be heard, as well as a man yelling “don’t shoot me” and “don’t kill me, oh God.”
The local mainstream media, however, is sticking to the cop narrative.
Below is a compilation of videos that have been posted online. We will be posting updates on this story as they develop.
UPDATE: The 18-year-old man, Amonderez Green, died this morning.
