Father of man, 19, killed in CHOP zone says authorities STILL haven’t told him what happened

The devastated father of the 19-year-old killed in Seattle’s CHOP zone broke down in tears as he said the authorities still haven’t told him what happened and he was not allowed to see his son’s body for a week.    

Horace Lorenzo Anderson told Fox News Wednesday the police had not reached out to him at all in the near-on two weeks since his black son Lorenzo Anderson was shot dead in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone back on June 20. 

‘It’s been almost two weeks, I haven’t heard from nobody – nobody has called,’ Anderson said.   

‘Ain’t nobody called me or try to find me. And his ID is my ID, so his number is my number, so it’s easy for detectives to say ‘hey excuse me’ – knock on my door – ‘excuse me, let’s tell you what happened about your son’.’ 

The heartbreaking interview came the same day Seattle police reclaimed their precinct in the protest zone after the mayor finally issued an early morning executive order to vacate the area which has been occupied by protesters since June 8. 

The devastated father (left) of the 19-year-old killed in Seattle’s CHOP zone broke down in tears on Fox news Wednesday as he said the authorities still haven’t told him what happened and he was not allowed to see his son’s body for a week

The zone has seen two deadly shootings and crime rise by more than 500 per cent in just over three weeks, with Lorenzo becoming the first victim of gun crime in what started as a peaceful occupation.  

Anderson told Fox News he is still ‘numb’ from his son’s killing and has been left with unanswered questions after authorities have made no attempts to reach him. 

‘They need to come talk to me and somebody needs to come tell me something, because I still don’t know nothing,’ he said. 

‘Somebody needs to come to my house and knock on my door and tell me something. I don’t know nothing. All I know is my son got killed up there.’

Anderson said he only learned of his son’s death through two friends and is yet to be officially told anything from police.  

‘The only way I found out was just two of his friends, just two friends that just happened to be up there and they came and told me,’ he said. 

Lorenzo Anderson was shot dead in Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone back on June 20

Lorenzo Anderson was shot dead in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone back on June 20

Horace Lorenzo Anderson told Fox News Wednesday (pictured) the police had not reached out to him at all in the near-on two weeks since his Lorenzo's death

Lorenzo Anderson

Horace Lorenzo Anderson told Fox News Wednesday (left) the police had not reached out to him at all in the near-on two weeks since his Lorenzo’s (right) death

‘They weren’t even from Seattle. Now, mind you, I haven’t heard – the police department, they never came.

‘Someone should’ve came and knocked on my door and … should’ve been, like, coming to talk to me and let me know about my son. To this day, I really don’t know nothing. I’m still here sitting. I don’t know nothing.’ 

He went on to say that even now he is only learning information about his son’s death on YouTube.   

‘I’m hearing from YouTube. I don’t know nothing. All I know is my son is dead. I’m still trying to figure out answers so I can sleep. I don’t sleep. My kids don’t sleep. I can’t even stay at home,’ he said.

‘My kids, they feel like they are unsafe at home.’ 

Anderson also choked back tears as he told how he was not allowed to see his son’s body for a week. 

‘They wouldn’t even let me see my son,’ the distraught father said. 

‘It took me a whole week before I could see my son.’

He added: ‘They wouldn’t let me. I went to the hospital and they said we couldn’t see him.

‘When I go there I’m looking for detectives, for someone to tell me something… but when I got there there’s no one. The hospital is blank, it’s silent.’

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan finally issued an early morning executive order to vacate the area which has been occupied by protesters since June 8

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan finally issued an early morning executive order to vacate the area which has been occupied by protesters since June 8

The clean up operation began at Seattle's Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone on Wednesday

The clean up operation began at Seattle’s Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) zone on Wednesday

Seattle Department of Transportation begins removing plywood outside the closed Seattle Police East Precinct

Seattle Department of Transportation begins removing plywood outside the closed Seattle Police East Precinct

Seattle police showed up in force early Wednesday at the city’s “occupied” protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings

Seattle police showed up in force early Wednesday at the city’s ‘occupied’ protest zone, tore down demonstrators’ tents and used bicycles to herd the protesters after the mayor ordered the area cleared following two fatal shootings

Anderson said he waited for a long time before a doctor finally told him his son had died but he was not able to see him to identify him.

‘The only thing he tells me is my son’s deceased and I’m like “Well can I see him? Is is it my son?” As you got to realize at this time I’m going “Is it really my son?” I want to know is it my son as this could be someone else’s child.’

Anderson recalled how he was tortured for almost a week as he clung to hope that it wasn’t his son before he could finally identify his body. 

‘You know in my head I’m going “yes it’s mine because everyone is saying it but in my heart I’m going “I just need to see him one time just so I can see him” [but] I couldn’t see him that day,’ he said. 

‘That was Saturday. It took all the way to Thursday.. so I got to finally see him and then in my heart I knew it was my son now.’

The devastated parent then became inaudible as he said ‘these are kids’ and blasted the CHOP zone saying ‘they should have stopped this a long time ago’.

‘It’s getting to a point where…’ he said as his voice trailed off.  

TIMELINE OF VIOLENCE IN SEATTLE’S CHOP ZONE

June 8: Protesters occupy the area; police abandoned the precinct

June 20: A 19-year-old man is shot dead and a 33-year-old man was wounded 

June 24: Nearby businesses and property owners filed a federal lawsuit against the city 

June 29: Two teens shot – one fatally – in Jeep at zone’s concrete barriers 

June 30: Barricades at Seattle’s cop-free zone are torn down as protesters replace concrete barriers with trash cans and couches 

July 1:

Early hours : Mayor Jenny Durkan demand all barriers are removed after a 525 per cent spike in violent crimes in the area

5am: Police swarm the zone 

5:30am: Eyewitnesses say officers have cleared the area

7am: Chief Carmen Best confirms police have taken back precinct

The young man’s distraught father said he was still ‘numb’ after his son’s death as he faces his funeral service Thursday.  

‘I’m numb… I’m still numb today… I gotta bury my son tomorrow,’ Anderson said.     

‘They say, “He’s just a 19-year-old.”‘ No, that’s Horace Lorenzo Anderson. That’s my son, and I loved him.’

No arrests have been made over Anderson’s death or in the shooting of DeJuan Young, 33, who was shot but survived in a separate incident that same morning.

The zone has escalated into violence in recent weeks, with another black male – 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr – shot dead in the early hours of Monday morning.

A unnamed 14-year-old was also critically injured when eyewitnesses say armed security inside the zone fired 300 rounds.       

A clean up operation began at the zone on Wednesday but several Republicans, led by Mitch McConnell, have said it ‘is several deaths too late’. 

Mayor Jenny Durkan issued an order early Wednesday demanding all barriers be removed and Seattle police reclaimed the precinct.  

At least 31 people were arrested at the zone Wednesday for failure to disperse, obstruction, assault, and unlawful weapon possession as riot police worked to dismantle the zone.   

Protesters had occupied several blocks around a park and the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct after officers abandoned the building on June 8 following clashes with protesters calling for an end to police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s ‘murder’. 

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