Friends and family members of a teen who was fatally shot by an off-duty Farmer's Branch police officer made an emotional plea for answers Monday night.
"They took my son’s life away," Ana Henriquez shouted through tears, clutching a photograph of her 16-year-old son Jose Cruz. "Why? Why God?"
Henriquez and several dozen other people gathered outside of the Addison Police Department, shouting at officers in the parking lot and demanding a meeting with department leadership.
Addison police are investigating the Sunday night shooting. The off-duty police officer, Ken Johnson, reportedly saw Cruz and another teen trying to break in to a car at his apartment complex. Johnson told them to stop, according to an official statement, and identified himself as a police officer.
Following a brief car chase, crash and altercation, Johnson reportedly shot Cruz and the other teen, according to an Addison city spokesperson.
The other suspect is hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to family friends.
Johnson is on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, according to the Addison statement. An attorney who represents Johnson told The Dallas Morning News that the shooting was justified because Johnson "feared for his life."
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There are still several outstanding questions regarding the shooting, including whether Jose Cruz had a weapon.
