Unarmed teen college student Christian Taylor fatally shot by police

Christian Taylor has become another unarmed person unfortunately fatally shot by police. His family and the community are calling the shooting unjustified.

Christian Taylor shooting

Police say Taylor, 19, tried to rob a car dealership early Friday when an officer fatally shot him, a claim his family disputes. Taylor was to begin his sophomore year at Angelo State University in Texas when his life came to an abrupt end.

According to Star-Telegram, around 1 a.m. Friday, police were notified of a burglary in progress at a GMC Classic Buick dealership. Police say a security company called for emergency help after company employees witnessed a man using his car to crash through the dealership’s showroom window.

“The officers went and confronted him. There was an altercation. An officer discharged his weapon and struck the suspect,” Sgt. Paul Rodriguez, a police spokesman, told the Star-Telegram.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the dead man as 19-year-old Christian Taylor. Taylor was a sophomore at Angelo State University and a member of the football team as a defensive back. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rodriguez added that Taylor was unarmed when he was shot.

Officer involved

Police identified the officer involved in the shooting as 49-year-old Brad Miller, a recent graduate of the academy, who was working under the supervision of a training officer at the time of the shooting.

Rodriquez told the paper that officers there is no footage of the incident as its department is in the process of getting body cameras.

As a result, authorities are trying to recover security video footage from the dealership.

“We’re having two independent investigations—a criminal and administrative,” Rodriguez said. “As an agency, we take the loss of any human life as serious, but we owe it to our community to conduct a clear and transparent investigation to determine what exactly took place.”

Clyde Fuller, Taylor’s great‑uncle, told the Star‑Telegram that the story doesn’t add up. He said his great‑nephew planned to return to college and excelled at football.

“He was a good kid. I don’t see him stealing no car or nothing like that,” Fuller said.

“I think something is going on that somebody is lying about,” Fuller told the Star-Telegram. “They say he’s burglarizing the place by running up in there? Nuh-uh. Something doesn’t sound right.”

Chilling Twitter messages

Christian Taylor posted chilling messages on Twitter that showed his frustration with police shootings and what he saw as an unjust system.

I don’t wanna die too younggggg

— October 13th (@he_got_sneaks) July 31, 2015

Police taking black lives as easy as flippin a coin, with no consequences smh — October 13th (@he_got_sneaks) December 24, 2014

Our police system is a joke, when will we ever be protected?

— October 13th (@he_got_sneaks) December 24, 2014

I don’t feel protected by the police — October 13th (@he_got_sneaks) August 12, 2014

Officer Miller has been placed on administrative leave.