UPDATE: The Texas offer who shot a 15-year-old boy sitting in a car was charged Friday with murder, according to The Associated Press.
Read the original report below.
A 15-year-old Texas boy was killed Saturday night by a police officer who fired into a carload of teenagers, police and an attorney for the boy’s family said.
Jordan Edwards, of Mesquite, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the shooting in Balch Springs, a suburb of Dallas. Lee Merritt, a lawyer representing Edwards’ family, said the boy was unarmed when he was killed.
The Balch Springs Police Department released a statement saying that dispatchers received a 911 call around 11 p.m. Saturday reporting underage children walking around a neighborhood, drunk. When officers arrived, they heard gunshots.
"There was an unknown altercation with a vehicle backing down the street toward the officers in an aggressive manner," the statement said. "An officer shot at the vehicle, striking the front seat passenger."
Balch Springs police Chief Jonathan Haber said during a news conference held after the shooting that he did not have information on whether any weapons were found in the car Edwards was riding in.
Merritt told CBS DFW that there was nothing aggressive about the way the driver -- Edwards' older brother -- was driving the vehicle the teens were traveling in.
"They were simply leaving a party where they believed danger was," Merritt told the news station. "So, I can't wrap my mind around why an officer decided to shoot into the car."
Merritt told the Washington Post on Sunday that the driver of the car -- Edwards' older brother -- was not backing toward officers, but was maneuvering out of his parking spot. He heard someone with a flashlight, who appeared to be a police officer, shouting profanity at him.
Before the teen could respond, the officer fired multiple shots into the car's driver side window, Merritt said. The attorney told the Post that Edwards' brother sped away from the gunfire for about a block until he and the other boys saw smoke coming from Edwards' head and realized he had been shot.
His older brother pulled over and flagged down an approaching patrol car for help.
In a news release on his Facebook page, Merritt described Edwards as a straight-A student athlete who was "loved by his family and peers alike."
“The family is truly devastated by this senseless killing and is calling on a thorough investigation, which should lead to the termination of the officer and criminal charges filed against him for his reckless conduct and disregard for life,” Merritt said in the news release. “Based on witness accounts of the incident, there simply was no justifiable and/or lawful reason for the officer to fire at an occupied vehicle.”
Though some people went on the police department's Facebook page to offer the officer the benefit of the doubt, the majority of those who commented criticized the department.
"The kids were leaving because they heard gunshots," one woman wrote on Facebook. "They were not backing aggressively toward the cops. They weren't armed, either. Just another senseless murder by a scared man in blue. #TiredOfTheScenario."
Others questioned the “unknown altercation” and how a vehicle could be backed down a street “aggressively.” Many commenters demanded criminal charges against the officer, who Haber said has been placed on administrative duty.
Haber told CBS DFW that the department had received threats on social media over the shooting.
“We want to encourage everyone to please just be patient,” Haber said.
The department is conducting an internal investigation, but the official investigation into the shooting is being handled by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, along with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Merritt told the Dallas Morning News that Edwards and the other teens in the car were not the ones the initial 911 call was about. None of the teens have been charged with a crime.
Merritt said he believes that the department’s version of events “will not hold water when the facts come out.”
Haber offered the Edwards family condolences on behalf of himself, his officers and the city.
“We will continue to reach out to the parents and keep them informed as we move forward from this point,” Haber said.
The Edwards family is calling for justice for their son, who was a freshman at Mesquite High School. He was described by friends as a good athlete and a respectful person.
"Best running back I ever played with, and I'll never forget him," friend and teammate Chris Cano Jr. told CBS DFW. "I still can't believe it. I want to see his smile again."
Cano's father told the News that Edwards was a good kid and "not a thug."
"It could have easily been my son," Chris Cano Sr. said of the fatal shooting.
Family and friends were not the only ones calling for justice for the teen. Several people on social media were adding his name to the list of black citizens killed by police officers across the U.S.
Mesquite High School announced Monday morning that testing had been postponed a day because of Edwards’ killing. Administrators also had additional counselors on campus to help students process his death.
Merritt told the Post that several of the teens with Edwards when he was killed were classmates and teammates on the football team.
“They’re never going to be the same,” Merritt said. “These kids are never going to be the same.”
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