Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old freshman at Mesquite High School in Texas, was fatally shot by police in Balch Springs. (Contributed Photo/Lee Merritt/Facebook)
A 15-year-old Texas boy was fatally shot by police Saturday night while he was the passenger in a car, authorities say.
Jordan Edwards was in the front passenger’s seat and was shot through the side window by a Balch Springs Police officer, an attorney for his family
told the Dallas Morning News.
Balch Springs Police Chief Jonathan Haber said Monday the officer’s actions, “did not meet our core values,”
the newspaper reports.
Jordan was in the car with four other teens, Merritt said.
Balch Springs Police said they were called to a report of “several underage kids walking around” in the 12300 block of Baron Drive about 11 p.m. Saturday,
according to a press release. Police said the responding officers heard gunfire while looking for the teens and opened fire on the car Edwards was in after “an unknown altercation.”
The family’s attorney, Lee Merritt, told the newspaper Jordan and his friends were not the teens police were looking for and hadn’t been drinking. He said the other teens in the car are not facing charges.
“An unarmed 15 y/o child died after being shot in the head by Balch Springs PD. A cop shot multiple rounds into a car filled with teens,” Merritt said on Facebook.
“Another family ripped apart by police brutality. There was absolutely no justification for this murder,” Merritt
said on Twitter. “We demand justice!”
Balch Springs, a city of about 23,000 people, is located in north Texas, about 20 minutes from Dallas.
A memorial fund has been
set up to help the Edwards family.
Jordan Edwards: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know
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Can a mod please update the title with the jit's name. Jordan Edwards.