Bodycam footage captured the moment Florida Police convinced a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing his mother to lower his gun to his own head during a standoff that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
Following an argument, Adeem Berry allegedly shot his mother and left her for dead, then chased his boyfriend, who fled on foot to a neighbor’s house.
Deputies with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a shooting in Riverview on September 16.
Dispatchers received multiple calls simultaneously reporting a young man running in the Summerfield subdivision with a handgun.
As police arrived on Lynmoor Drive, they encountered Berry, dressed in a red t-shirt and jeans, who stood at a distance and repeatedly raised the gun to his head, threatening to shoot himself. a ball.
Police responded to several calls on September 16 reporting a young man running around with a handgun.
They arrived to find Adeem Berry, 14, accused of shooting his mother and injuring her boyfriend.
For 16 grueling minutes, deputies talked Berry out of killing himself as he threatened to turn the gun on himself.
Berry threatened to kill himself as an MP urged him to stand down, saying: “Adeem, put it down, mate.”
Berry’s brother later told them the teen and his mother got into a fight before several gunshots rang out. Fearing he might be next, the brother fled the house.
However, Berry’s next target was reportedly her mother’s boyfriend. After leaving her dying in an alley, Berry ran into the subdivision looking for the man.
The boyfriend was also shot but managed to escape and was hiding at a neighbor’s house.
In the footage, a deputy repeatedly told Berry he didn’t mean to shoot him as they stood with several cars parked between them.
“You don’t want it to end like this,” the cop said hoarsely. “You don’t want it to end this way, brother. I promise you.’
Berry continued to point the gun at his head as the officer asked him not to shoot.
“Whatever happened today, it can be fixed,” he said. “Don’t pull the trigger. »
At one point, he called out the child’s name, saying, “Adeem, put him down, buddy.” »
The deputy asked Berry to step forward with his hands raised in the air as he slowly moved toward him with the gun still pointed.
“My gun is only out because I don’t know what you’re going to do,” the cop said. He assured the boy that once he got closer, he would holster the gun.
Berry put the gun down before picking it up again.
“Please don’t do this again,” the deputy said.
The officers then fired a 40mm launcher at Berry. The bullet, described as a “less lethal bullet”, which struck him in the hand.
The deputy continued to urge him forward, motioning for him to continue. He asked the boy to lie down on the grass because the sidewalk would be too hot.
Eventually, the teenager agreed and police rushed to handcuff him.
The deputy turned the boy around and patted his pockets to check for any other weapons. He twice asked Berry who he had shot, but the boy refused to answer.
After being shot in the hand, the teenager was handcuffed and taken into custody.
Sheriff Chad Chronister praised deputies for recognizing that the boy wanted to kill himself instead of posing a threat to them.
The teen is charged with several counts, including second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
As Berry stood and was handcuffed, the officer told the teen to look him in the eyes. The t-shirt the boy was wearing had Mario from the Super Mario games printed on it.
“I have no idea what just happened in there,” the officer said. “We’ll find out.
“But whatever choices you made, it was the best choice you made all day,” he added, referring to Berry’s decision to spare his own life. ‘THANKS.’
While the teen was being taken into custody, officers discovered his mother slumped in an alley down the street. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the de-escalation, other deputies rushed to rescue the mother’s boyfriend. They were able to get him to EMS personnel and he was transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
Sheriff Chad Chronister praised the deputies who negotiated with Berry for maintaining their composure during the grueling 16 minutes.
“They used their remarkable intuition and expertise to determine that this suspect was not seeking to harm them, but was contemplating suicide,” he said.
Although the sheriff acknowledged the horrific consequences of the crime.
“This scene is one of nightmares and absolute heartbreak. This family’s life has been changed forever,” he said.
“A victim’s life was taken, and because of his actions, the suspect’s life as he knows it is over. He will never see the outside of a detention center for his crimes.
Berry was charged with a series of crimes: second-degree murder with a weapon, attempted first-degree murder with a firearm with premeditation – discharge, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.