NYPD Fatally Shoots Teen Dashawn Vasconcellos 11 Times After Ignored Repeated Orders to Drop His 9MM Weapon

NYPD officers fatally shot Queens teen Dashawn Vasconcellos Saturday night after he ignored orders to drop his weapon. Vasconcellos, 18, reportedly pointed a loaded semiautomatic at them and the cops responded by hitting him will 11 bullets. The teen and two friends were leaving Bayswater State Park in Far Rockaway at about  11:30 p.m. Saturday night when four cops from the gang unit spotted them. Sorry, but if you are in a closed park that time of the night, it's safe to say you were up to no good.

The youths all tried to flee, but one of the cops was able to grab two of them, police said. Vasconcellos managed to run away. The other three officers chased the teen, who suddenly spun around and aimed the 9mm weapon at them, according to police. When Vasconcellos ignored repeated orders to drop his gun, the cops opened fire, police said. Three bullets struck him in the back, one in the chest, one in the right arm and the rest in the legs. Vasconcellos was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital about 45 minutes later. Police said he had an arrest record for robbery and trespassing and that his gun was recovered at the scene.

Vasconcellos' mother was too distraught to talk to reporters yesterday at a vigil near the entrance to the Beach 41st Street Houses, where he lived. Family friend Arleaner Cannon said, "He was a good kid. He would not pull a gun at cops. If he had a gun, it was for protection. He's not crazy." "He's not the kind of person who would point a gun at anyone," the neighbor said. "Why would you do something crazy, almost suicidal?" Source: NY Post

I will concede that 11 shots sound excessive, but the cops have to protect themselves as well. It's amazing that people will say that the victim was a good kid, but refuse to state why he was in the park, which was closed, at that time or why he had a semiautomatic gun? What reason could he possibly need to have a gun to protect himself, unless he was engaged in questionable behavior. I hope an autopsy will be performed to see if this young man was under the influence of any drugs or alcohol that could have impaired his behavior.