"He murdered my son in cold blood": Mother of a teenager shot and killed by a Pennsylvania police officer



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Michelle Kenney and Antwon Rose Sr. did something on Sunday that they would never have thought of doing: going to a funeral home to wake up their 17 year old son, Antwon Rose II.

But before getting into a car and driving to the Tunnel Funeral Home in Homestead, Pennsylvania, mother and father had a lot to say about their child and the policeman who shot him down a street near their small town , a suburb of Pittsburgh. .

PHOTO: An interview of the parents of Antwon Rose Jr., 17, unarmed, killed by a police officer on June 19, 2018 in East Pittsburgh.ABC News
An interview with parents of Antwon Rose Jr., 17, unarmed, killed by a police officer on June 19, 2018 in East Pittsburgh.

"He murdered my son in cold blood," Kenney told ABC News Tuesday night when police said his unarmed son had fled an officer who opened fire after the teenager took a few steps to escape.

"If he has a son, I pray that his heart never has to suffer like mine," said Kenney about the policeman. "But I think he should pay for taking my son's life, really."

PHOTO: An undated photo of Antwon Rose, 17, who was shot in Pennsylvania on June 19, 2018.Antwon Rose / Facebook
An undated photo of Antwon Rose, 17, who was shot in Pennsylvania on June 19, 2018.

While she was talking through tears of tears, Kenney squeezed a Bible on her lap with the words "My son" written on a piece of paper and stuck on the cover. On the front of her striped dress she wore a purple ribbon, which she said was her son's favorite color.

She recounted how her son, nicknamed "My Baby," had traveled the world, learned to ski and play hockey. He dreamed of going to college and becoming a chemical engineer or lawyer.

"I knew that Antwon was destined for greatness, I told her all the time," she said. "I thought that he was going to be an engineer who designed something that changed the world, or that he was going to have a case that changed the world, I never knew that he was going to have a job. he would be a homicide victim and change the world just unimaginable. "

The teenager was riding a silver Chevrolet that authorities had suspected of being involved in a shooting in North Braddock that had injured a 22-year-old man. Michael Rosfeld, East Pittsburgh police officer, fired the vehicle around 8:40 pm. on Grandview and Howard Streets in East Pittsburgh, about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

The Allegheny County Police Department, which is investigating the death of Antwon, said in a statement that Rosfeld fired the car because it matched the description of the vehicle involved in the shooting. and that he had noticed a bullet hole in the rear window.

While Rosfeld was handcuffing the driver, Antwon and another passenger in the car took off, according to the police statement. Rosfeld fired his gun at Antwon, hitting him three times in the upper body, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner, who did not specify where on his upper body Antwon was shot.

PHOTO: Protesters gather in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse on June 21, 2018 in Pittsburgh for the murder of Antwon Rose Jr.Keith Srakocic / AP
Protesters gather in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse on June 21, 2018 in Pittsburgh for the murder of Antwon Rose Jr.

Antwon was taken near the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center McKeesport, where he died.

Police said that two weapons had been found inside the car, but Antwon was not armed when he was shot. Police found a 9mm ammunition staple in their pocket, the authorities said.

Without a video on cell phone, Shauny Mary, 23, took the filming, the story could have stopped there. Mary posted her video on social media, sparking angry protests on the streets of East Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

PHOTO: Antwon Rose, 17, was shot by a police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 2018. The shot was captured by a viewer on a cell phone video, which is currently being examined by the authorities.Obtained by ABC News
Antwon Rose, 17, was shot dead by a police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 2018. The shooting was captured by a viewer on a cell phone video, which is being examined by authorities.
PHOTO: The filming of Antwon Rose, 17, by a police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 2018, was captured on a cell phone by a spectator.Obtained by ABC News
The filming of Antwon Rose, 17, by a police officer in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 19, 2018, was captured on a cell phone by a spectator.

The video shows Antwon and another man running from the car. Antwon, dressed in a white T-shirt, took about 10 feet before three shots sounded and he fell to the ground.

"It was like he was taking the practice of the target on the back of this young man," Mary told ABC News. "He did not flinch, he did not say stop running, he did not say anything."

Antwon Rose Sr. said she saw Mary's video before she became viral. He said that initially he had not realized that it was his son because people were saying that the boy who had been shot was 13 years old.

"I never thought it was my son," he said.

Michelle Kenney said that she could not afford to watch the video.

PHOTO: Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.Courtesy of the Rose family
Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.

"If it was not there [a video]we would not have this conversation because a thousand people could have got up and the world would not have believed them because it was murdered by a cop and people do not seem to think that they lie, "said Kenney." So, by the grace of God, there is a video. "

She said that she does not understand why Rosfeld is still in the police.

"If I had shot someone cold, I would have been arrested at the scene, he would not have waited, there would not have been any." "Inquiry, there would be no questions about why I did it or about what happened in prison," Kenney said. "He should have been in jail the day after the incident, he should have been fired five minutes after the incident, maybe they should never have hired him." . "

ABC News has several times contacted Rosfeld 's attorney to comment, but has not heard from them. The prosecutor said that Rosfeld cooperates with the investigation.

Rosfeld, 30, broke his silence Thursday by announcing at ABC WTAE-TV station in Pittsburgh that the shooting had taken place three weeks after his arrival at the Pittsburgh Police Department and a few hours after his official inauguration.

PHOTO: Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.Courtesy of the Rose family
Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.

Rosfeld, who is on administrative leave while the shooting is under investigation, said he had remained out of the media coverage of the shooting and would not discuss the details of what he was doing. incited to use deadly force. He said that he did not know that there was a video of the shooting.

He said that he had started his law enforcement career in 2011 and that before joining the East Pittsburg Police Department, he was working as an officer in the US. University of Pittsburgh and two other police departments of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Kenney told ABC News that she drilled him in his son to always respect the police.

"My son died and I do not stop saying it, but he did not die by accident," she said. "He did not fall off a cliff, he did not stumble and he hit his head, a cop killed him, the same person who should have protect him, the same person that I learned to respect and respect. for, never be disrespectful, murdered my son. "

When asked what she would say to people who were wondering why Antwon was in a car involved in a shootout and why he had an ammunition magazine in his pocket, she replied, "My son is death. My son is dead, for all who say that their son must be at home.

PHOTO: Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.Courtesy of the Rose family
Undated photos of Antwon Rose with family members, courtesy of The Rose Family.

"To see how good my son was, he did not deserve that, no one deserves it and nobody deserves to bury his baby at 17 for trying to get home, while his mom is waiting on the porch I would not want that to happen, I can not begin to explain sadness and sorrow.

She said that she was astonished at the thousands of people who took to the streets to seek justice for her son, including the many friends, teachers and neighbors who knew the character of Antwon.

"I look at it this way: If it was not Antwon and that it was another child, I do not know how many people would have stood up, but because my son was really a beautiful soul, everyone's got up and I'm hoping this will change the world, "Kenney said.

In a poem that his son composed on May 16, 2016 for a course in English literature, he wrote: "I am confused and I am afraid, I wonder what path I will take, I hear that There are only two issues. their sons, I want my mother never to feel this pain.

Listening to these words, she said, they were all too familiar.

"They are actually words from his mother," said Kenney. "That's how I know my son heard me, and it makes me smile because we were so close and I was so involved in what was going on with him and those words that he was interpreting me.

PHOTO: Demonstrators are trying the front of the Allegheny County Courthouse as they gather, June 21, 2018 in Pittsburgh, for the murder of Antwon Rose Jr. who was fatally wounded by a policeman.Keith Srakocic / AP
The protesters invade the Allegheny County Courthouse during their rally on June 21, 2018, in Pittsburgh, for the murder of Antwon Rose Jr. who was fatally injured by a police officer.

"So when you read them and you said that my son wrote them, we lived them," she said. "This is not just a piece of paper, it 's not just a poem, it' s the life of many, many African – American men, it 's not just a poem, it' s not just a piece of paper, it 's not just a poem, it' s the life of many, many African – American men, it 's just that my son wrote it and that he lost his life so that you could read it "

Funeral will be held at 11 am in Antwon at Woodland Hills Middle School, Homestead, Pennsylvania, where he was a former student. Many mourners plan to wear purple in the honor of Antwon.

PHOTO: Protesters listen to one of the speakers who gather in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse on June 21, 2018, in Pittsburgh.Keith Srakocic / AP
Protesters listen to one of the speakers who gather in front of the Allegheny County Courthouse on June 21, 2018, in Pittsburgh.

Kenney and senior Antwon Rose have said that they hope their son will not be forgotten after his funeral.

"I'm amazed that all of this has something to do with my son, but I'm destroyed because of it," said Kenney. "I appreciate all the protesters, I just want them to protest peacefully because I do not want to see anyone else go by there, so I do not want them to be arrested, I do not want them to act.they protest on behalf of Antwon, then we can not use the same hatred that took the life of my son, we must protest in the name of love.

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