Teenager wielding ‘black rifle’ that was – an Airsoft gun is shot dead by LAPD officer outside home
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The LAPD released the unedited video showing the moments when a teen was shot and killed outside his home while wielding a toy gun while his mother yelled for officers not to hurt her son.
The officers responded to 19-year-old Luis Herrera’s south Los Angeles home before 1:20 p.m. Sept. 17, after he himself called 911 to claim his father had abused him and his mother. That claim later turned out to be untrue.
Bodycam images show the moment when two uniformed officers approach the house. Before they get to the door, Herrera appears holding something that looks like a black rifle.
The officers retreat to the side of the house and take cover in garbage cans. They can be heard yelling, “Put that down, put that down” and “Let go of that gun.”
After ignoring the officers’ multiple commands to drop the apparent weapon, the officers begin firing at Herrera. The video shows the teen dropping to the ground and dropping the weapon. He still appears to be moving in the video, but is incapacitated.
Upon closer inspection, the rifle in question turned out to be an Airsoft pistol, a BB-esque toy that fires plastic projectiles.
As the officers approach the house, 19-year-old Luis Herrera can be seen emerging from the front of the house and clutching at what appeared to be a large black rifle.
The officers quickly drew their guns, demanded that Herrera drop the gun and took cover on the side of the house.
Teenage victim Luis Herrera, seen here in a Univision newscast, was armed with two Airsoft guns when he was shot dead
Behind the trash cans, officers opened fire on Herrera, hitting him six times, the victim’s father said
As he lay on the ground, the officers continued to demand that he drop the gun
While Herrera lay mortally wounded, officers put him in handcuffs
The Airsoft rifle wielded by Herrera, many prominent gun manufacturers allow Airsoft to use their designs in their toys
In the 911 call, Herrera tells an operator: “My father is drunk and he started hitting my mother, and I tried to get involved, and now he attacked me.”
He continued, “My father…I’m absolutely devastated by him.”
The new video released by the LAPD also shows security footage of Herrera’s backyard. Those images show his family’s reaction to the shooting.
The video is presented by LAPD spokesman Captain Kelly Muniz. Muniz describes the events by saying, “He disobeyed the officers’ orders and took the rifle on his shoulders and pointed directly at the officers, resulting in a shooting involving the officer.”
The family’s security camera captures the moment officers arrived at the house while the family was in the backyard
The new video shows Herrera lying injured in front of the house while members of his family are told by the officers to stay behind
The teen’s father, Vicente Herrera, shown here, described the teen’s behavior as highly unusual the day he was shot
The video also shows the officer approaching Herrera’s bloodied body after the shooting and handcuffing him.
When they roll him over, a gun can be seen under his body surrounded by blood. Investigators have said it was also an Airsoft pistol.
In the aftermath of the shooting, a woman can be heard yelling, “It’s a toy. Why did they attack him?’ The same woman yells repeatedly throughout the video, “That’s my son.”
Herrera’s father, Vicente Herrera, comes forward and tells the officers that the gun was a toy. The officers tell him to go back inside.
Vincent told the Los Angeles Times the day after his son’s death, the fight started when the teenager hit a dog. His father said, ‘He hit my dog and we got into a fight – I said the dog is like a little kid, don’t hit him.’
He further described his son as a quiet and immature one, saying that he liked to play video games. Herrera would have turned 20 two days before the shooting. Vicente said the argument he had with his son was out of character.
He said, “I don’t know what happened in his head.”
At the time, Vicente claimed that the responding officers had not ordered his son to drop the gun. He also said his son was shot six times.
As he lay on the ground, officers continued to demand that he drop the gun.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics determined that Herrera died at the scene after being shot in the chest.
The police officer who fired the fatal shots has been named Police Officer II Luis Navarrete. No officers were injured in the shooting.
He has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division.
Muniz says in the video: “We are also not drawing any conclusions as to whether the agents have acted in accordance with our policy and the law until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed.”
Airsoft guns have long been a concern for law enforcement officers because of their apparent authenticity. Major firearms manufacturers such as Glock and Barretta have their designs replicated for Airsoft versions.
In 2019, three Democratic senators sent letters to the Consumer Product Safety Commission demanding stricter rules on the sale of toys.
There are no federal laws or regulations regarding the sale of the toy, according to: rail.
Since 2014, Google has banned the advertising of Airsoft guns on their platform, while Walmart stopped selling toys in 2018.