16-Year-Old Black Teen Killed By Sheriff’s Deputy In Los Angeles, But Was He Really Armed?

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L.A. Teen Killed By Police

We were saddened to learn of the death of Anthony Jacob Weber, a 16-year-old teen killed this weekend in South Los Angeles by police.

According to Independent reports, officials are claiming that Weber had a gun tucked in his waistband at the time he was shot, but they believe someone in the crowd may have removed the weapon during the confusion that followed.

The incident happened after someone called 911 Sunday night to report a man had pointed a gun at his car. Deputies encountered a 16-year-old boy matching the suspect’s description — a black man wearing a black T-shirt and jeans. Police claim they ordered the suspect to stop, but he took off running into an apartment complex, detectives said.

The boy, identified by family members as Anthony Jacob Weber, appeared to have a gun tucked into his waistband and away from the deputies, sheriff’s Capt. Chris Bergner said. A witness told detectives they remembered hearing the deputies yell out, “Don’t reach for it!” but didn’t know whether Weber had a gun, he said.

The deputies chased Weber into the courtyard of an apartment complex, where he turned around and reached for his waistband, Bergner said. As he turned around, a deputy opened fire, shooting off 10 rounds, the captain said. It was unclear how many times Weber was shot.

About 30 to 40 people flooded into the apartment complex’s courtyard and surrounded the two deputies as Weber lay wounded on the floor, officials said. Investigators believe that while the deputies were waiting for backup to arrive someone in the crowd grabbed the gun from the scene.

“They believe that somebody reached in and may have taken a gun,” Berger said at a news conference. The weapon hasn’t been recovered.

Weber was the father of an infant daughter.

“My son was a good son. He was a great brother. He had the biggest heart,” Weber’s mother, Demetra Johnson, said. “He had a 9-month old daughter, Violet, that lights up every time he walks in the room. He didn’t deserve this. He don’t (sic) have that kind of heart that deserve this kind of killing.”

Prayers up for Weber’s family. Do you think it’s really possible that someone reached into the crime scene to remove the gun? Or are the police just trying to cover up for another killing of an unarmed teen?