A 9-year-old Bangladeshi youth, who immigrated to the USA in 2014 with his family, met his demise after being shot by New York police officers at his residence in Queens on Wednesday.
Identified as Win Rozario, the young man was grappling with mental distress when he placed a 911 call seeking assistance, according to reports from The New York Times.
John Chell, the Chief of Patrol for the Police Department, said in a press conference that the officers were responding to a 911 call regarding a person in mental distress when they encountered a rapidly escalating and volatile situation upon arriving at the apartment.
"Upon locating the individual on the second floor of the building, the officers attempted to apprehend him, but he allegedly grabbed a pair of scissors and advanced towards them. The police initially utilized stun devices, which temporarily subdued the individual. However, the situation intensified when the man's mother intervened, accidentally dislodging the stun device prongs," said the police officer.
Faced with a renewed threat, the officers found themselves compelled to resort to their firearms in self-defense, resulting in the tragic outcome, the NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell added.
Rozario’s 17-year-old brother, Ushto Rozario, contradicted the police account in an interview. He said his mother had been holding his brother in her arms throughout the encounter.
“As my mother was still hugging him, they shot him with the Taser,” he said. “So they shot him with the Tasers, and my brother didn’t really go down. So one of the cops pulled out a gun and shot him as my mother still hugging him.”
He said the shooting was unnecessary.
Rozario was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Although the exact number of shots fired remains unclear, Chief Chell assured that the entire incident was captured on the officers' body-worn cameras, which are currently under review by the department.
The officers involved in the incident did not sustain any injuries.
