A New York City mother is demanding answers after her son was shot and killed by four NYPD officers when he allegedly refused to drop a firearm.
Joel Capellan died Sunday morning after a barrage of bullets was fired at the 28-year-old whom department officials said refused to drop a gun despite multiple commands from cops.
"The holidays are coming up and my son is gone. You still go home and see your child, I can on longer hold mines," Jenny Rodriguez said hours after finding out the fate of her son.
The shooting followed some sort of dispute that attracted the uniformed officers of the 34th Precinct Neighborhood Safety Team around 3 a.m. NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeff Maddrey said the officers found the group near Dyckman Street and Nagle Avenue.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The four officers approached the Inwood corner where they reportedly saw a man "with a gun in his hand" fighting in the crowd, Maddrey said. Officers allegedly gave multiple commands for the man to drop the gun, which police said were ignored.
The officers then fired at the man, striking Capellan multiple times. Officials said he was taken to a hospital, but did not survive his injuries.
Nearly three dozen evidence markers could be scene across the intersection Sunday morning as investigators continued their work hours after the sun came up.
News
"We do not know exactly what the circumstances were out here, we're still investigating the disturbance. But there were a lot of people out here and we're gonna ask everybody, anybody who was out here who may have seen anything to please call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS," Maddrey said.
The NYPD tweeted a photo of the gun they said was recovered at the scene and belonged to the 28-year-old shot dead.
Rodriguez said her son lived with her and didn't own a weapon. She said he served time and had been back home for less than a year, working on getting his life back on track.
"If he did anything wrong, then he did something wrong. But he did not deserve to die the way he died," she said.
Rodriguez said a family member was at the corner with Capellan, who they say was already shot in the abdomen before the officers responded.
Police officials did not confirm additional details surrounding Capellan's injuries sustained before or after the cops fired, but said a second man was grazed by gunfire.
