Anthony ‘AJ’ Weber, age 16, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy on Sunday in Los Angeles, which prompted his father to demand answers at an emergency community meeting on Wednesday.
But John Weber, the teen’s father, said authorities avoided his questions about his son’s death at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South Los Angeles.
‘They wouldn’t answer,’ Weber told ABC News. ‘The only comments they wanted to make was that AJ was a gang member. People were screaming at the police.’
Police said the boy matched the description of a suspect believed to have pointed a gun at a 9-1-1 caller, and that they saw a gun on him as he ran away, but no weapon was found when law enforcement searched his body.
The teen leaves behind a 9-month-old daughter, multiple siblings, and his mother and father.
Anthony ‘AJ’ Weber, age 16, was fatally shot by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy on Sunday in Los Angeles, leaving behind a 9-month-old daughter, Violet
At the meeting meant to lessen tensions between law enforcement and the community, things got so intense that the forum was called to a close, The Los Angeles Times reported.
‘Where’s the gun?’ the boys father asked. ‘I know where the bullets are, they’re right in my baby’s back.’
None of the Sheriff’s officials responded to the father’s question and statement at that moment.
At another point, a man screamed, ‘You killed a 16-year-old!’
‘Was my brother murdered? Yes or no?’ the slain teen’s brother, also named John Weber, asked of the officials.
The crowd answered for them, screaming, ‘Yes!’
The teen’s family and community members spoke passionately with officials at the meeting; The late teen’s brother, also named John Weber, is shown here engaging with officials on Wednesday at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South LA
Friends and loved ones of the teen shared their grief at the loss of his life
LA County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Chris Bergner said deputies said the boy matched the description of a suspect believed to have pointed a gun at a 9-1-1 caller, and that they saw a gun on him as he ran away, but no weapon was found when they searched his body
The teen’s bother Weber also asked the law enforcement at the meeting if his brother’s family or community was ‘due something,’ following the boy’s death.
‘Absolutely not,’ LA County Sheriff’s Department Captain Chris Bergner said.
When an angry group surrounded the panel, the meeting was called to a close.
The Sheriff’s Department later provided a statement on Thursday that said that Bergner couldn’t hear the question being asked of him.
What he said he thought he heard was the teen’s brother asking, ‘Don’t you think we are doomed?’ the department said.
‘That is the only reason why he replied, “Absolutely not,'” according to the statement.
The sixteen-year-old was reportedly at a Super Bowl party on Sunday, when police came on the scene as they were responding to a 9-1-1 call
Police said they saw Anthony Weber, that he matched the description of the suspect and that he had a gun tucked into his waistband, but no gun was found on his shirtless body
The sixteen-year-old was reportedly at a Super Bowl party on Sunday, when police came on the scene as they were responding to a 9-1-1 call about a ‘young man’ pointing a pistol at another man, CBS reported.
Police said they saw Anthony Weber, that he matched the description of the suspect and that he had a gun tucked into his waistband.
Police then said the teen started to run away, and turned around and pointed the gun at them, at which point they opened fire on him, shooting and calling him.
But no weapon was found at the scene when police searched the boy’s body.
John Weber, the teen’s 57-year-old Marine veteran father, said authorities avoided questions about his son’s death at the New Congregational Missionary Baptist Church in South LA
‘He didn’t deserve this,’ his mother, Demtra Johnson, said. ‘He doesn’t have that kind of heart’
‘He had no shirt on so you could clearly see his waist,’ a witness said, implying that deputies should have been able to see whether he had a firearm on his person.
Officials said between 30-40 people came out, once shots were fired, and that they suspected one of those people may have taken the firearm that Sheriff’s deputies said they saw.
‘Deputies saw a gun when the shooting occurred,’ Bergner said.
‘Then with the 30 to 40 people that came out of the apartment complex. They were trying to maintain security of that and they believe that at some point somebody may have reached in and may have taken the gun.’
A memorial with photos and trinkets was placed near the site of the teen’s shooting
Officials said between 30-40 people came out, once shots were fired, and that they suspected one of those people may have taken the firearm that Sheriff’s deputies said they saw
The teen was described as a ‘great father’ to his 9-month-old daughter, Violet (seen here)
But the teen’s family has said that does not fit the character they know to be true of their loved one.
‘He didn’t deserve this,’ his mother, Demtra Johnson, said. ‘He doesn’t have that kind of heart.’
‘My son was a good son. He was a great brother,’ she added. ‘He had the biggest heart. He was a wonderful father.’
The last conversation the boy had in person with his father was a day earlier, on Saturday, about a request for baby formula from the grocery store owned by the 57-year-old Marine in South Los Angeles, ABC reported.
The now deceased teen wanted the formula, for his 9-month-old baby girl, Violet.
The teen’s family has said that running from police and pointing a gun at them does not fit the character they know to be true of their loved one
Anthony ‘AJ’ Weber was shot and killed at around 8.20 pm Pacific on Sunday in the 1200 block of West 107th Street, near the edge of South Los Angeles
The boy’s father said the Sheriff’s Department has not been forthcoming about information related to the shooting, which was the reason the emotionally-charged meeting was held on Wednesday.
The community meeting was organized by a board convened by the city of Los Angeles to serve as watchdog over the sheriff’s department.
The group is called the Civilian Oversight Commission.
‘We saw that there was a huge community interest in the shooting so we put this forum together,’ executive director Brian Williams said.
‘It was tough. There was a very large crowd there, people were angry and wanted answers.’
Over 150 people showed up at the Commission’s meeting on Wednesday.
An investigation is ongoing into the officer-involved-shooting and death of Anthony ‘AJ’ Weber.
He was shot and killed at around 8.20 pm Pacific on Sunday in the 1200 block of West 107th Street, near the edge of South Los Angeles.
The community meeting was organized by a board convened by the city of Los Angeles to serve as watchdog over the sheriff’s department