A grieving Delaware mother is demanding answers after her paralyzed son was fatally shot by Wilmington police who say he refused to drop a handgun—a claim his mother vehemently denies.
According to the Associated Press, police were called to the area after reports that a man was suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting, which happened around 3 p.m. Wednesday, was recorded by a bystander. The graphic video appears to show 28-year-old Jeremy McDole, who was paralyzed from the waist down, sitting slouched in his wheelchair, when several armed officers approach him.
In the video, an officer spots McDole and calls out to his fellow officers, "He's over here!"
Officers can be heard yelling, "Show me your hands." Then a single gunshot rings out, but it is unclear who fired the shot.
Officers continue yelling for McDole to show his hands, and it appears that McDole reaches near his waist when at least 10 shots are heard.
A bloody McDole slides from his wheelchair and onto the concrete.
Wilmington Police Chief Bobby Cummings said during a news conference that McDole was "still armed with a handgun," AP reports.
"He was in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the waist down," McDole's mother, Phyllis McDole, said, interrupting Cummings' press conference, AP reports. "There's video showing that he didn't pull a weapon … I need answers."
Cummings said that once McDole reached for his waist, officers "engaged him," with the police chief adding that he did not know if officers made any attempt to use nonlethal force before shooting.
"I assure you that not one of those officers intended to take anyone's life that day," Cummings said, AP reports.
According to police, a .38-caliber gun was found near McDole, but his uncle, Eugene Smith, who was reportedly with McDole some 15 minutes before the shooting, told AP that he didn't see a weapon.
"He had a book bag, but I never seen a gun," Smith said. "It was an execution. That's what it was. I don't care if he was black, white, whatever."
According to AP, McDole was paralyzed in 2005 after he was shot in the back. His uncle told the news service that his nephew had been living in a nursing home.
The police chief noted that the four officers involved in the shooting would be on administrative duty while the shooting is investigated. Richard Smith, head of the Delaware chapter of the NAACP, has called for a special prosecutor to conduct the investigation because he doesn't want "cops investigating cops," AP reports.
Read more at ABC News.