Another young person of color is dead after being shot by two New York City police officers Saturday.
The New York Daily News reports that two police officers shot 21-year-old Erickson Gomez Brito after he allegedly attacked them with one of their own collapsible batons in a Brooklyn, N.Y., housing project.
The News reports that Officers Jennifer Garcia and Andris Bisogno were investigating a report of a suspicious person in the building when they found Brito on the ninth floor and asked for his identification about 1:30 p.m. Police say that he allegedly attacked them after the request.
“A conversation ensued [with Brito],” a NYPD housing official said. “The next thing you know, a scuffle ensued with this man.”
“At one point the officer removes his metal baton and the subject gets ahold of it and begins assaulting the two officers,” the official added.
As both cops were hit in the head, they opened fire. Police fired up to nine times, according to witnesses.
Responding officers took Garcia and Bisogno to Jamaica Hospital in their squad cars. No word on whether Brito was taken to the hospital.
Bisogno reportedly suffered a deep, 2-inch gash to his head that required staples. Garcia reportedly suffered bruises on her head and underwent a CT scan.
“He didn’t bother nobody,” said neighbor Dominique Cruz, who was in the courtyard when the shooting took place. “He sits in the staircase and smokes cigarettes.”
“Why they had to kill him?” asked Brito’s sister Omahis Gomez Brito. “I want justice for my brother, and we’re going to get it.”
Read more at the New York Daily News.