Yesterday at about 2 p.m. local time, 18-year-old Amonderez P. Green was shot in the face in Normandy, Missouri—just minutes away from where Michael Brown was killed. While police say he shot himself, witnesses maintain that a Ferguson Police Department officer fired the shot. Now, local television station KMOV reports that the teen has died.
During a press conference held last night, Normandy Police public information officer, Corporal Tameika Sanders, said that officers were called to subdue Green, who she described as being suicidal. She said he was “uncooperative” and refused to stop and talk to the officers or his family. She then alleges that he pulled out a gun and shot at officers, which prompted an officer to use his Taser on the teen. She said that it was “ineffective,” so one of the officers—who has been on the job 12 years—returned gunfire. She also said that “it appears at this time that the male was not struck by law enforcement gunfire.” Sanders said that Green ran from the gunfire and officers lost sight of him, during which time they heard a gunshot. They followed the sound and found him unresponsive on the ground with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the face. She also reports that officers found his gun. The two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, and KSDK reports that Normandy police have turned the case over to St Louis County Police “in an effort to be as objective as possible.”
But witnesses tell a different story.
A woman who spoke to The Huffington Post anonymously offered the following account of events:
Looking out her window, the witness said she saw Green—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.”
Another witness, Dominique Clemons, said: “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.”
Several videos have surfaced online from the scene. In one, posted by Clemons, officers can be seen running, and a woman’s voice shouts, “Don’t shoot my baby!” Then there is a gunshot and what appears to be a male voice yelling, “Don’t kill me. Oh, my God!”
LISTEN !!!! Listen close EVEN IF YOU GOTTA PUT THE PHONE TO YOUR EAR LISTEN HE IS SAYING PLEASE DONT KILL ME OH GOD pic.twitter.com/AXFPBgVICq
— Nique2X (@_prettyassnique) October 28, 2015
Another video shows Green’s father saying that Ferguson PD was responsible for shooting his son:
Other witnesses as the scene were adamant that a Ferguson officer fired the fatal shot:
The City of Ferguson took to Twitter yesterday to say that none of its officers shot Green:
.@stlcountypd are investigating a shooting involving a resident today. Despite rumors, Ferguson PD did not shoot a suspect.
— City of Ferguson (@FergusonScoop) October 28, 2015
Twitter users are circulating what they say is a Ferguson PD statement that admits that their officers were present, and a call to FPD this morning confirmed that they did indeed have officers on-site.
ICYMI, #Ferguson PD released a statement about 12:30 am confirming they were involved in #AmonderezGreen shooting. pic.twitter.com/HulMCdK08d
— TC (@tchop_stl) October 29, 2015