Washington: An Indian-American teenager, wanted on a felony firearms possession warrant, was shot dead by a California police after he opened fire on them, officials said.
The individual, identified as Nathaniel Prasad, 18, was shot dead on April 5, according to an investigation report released by the Freemont Police Department on Thursday. He was wanted on a felony probation warrant and a misdemeanour evading arrest warrant for fleeing from a Fremont School Resource Officer on March 22.
On April 5, the Fremont Police Department's Street Crimes Unit identified Prasad as a passenger in a vehicle that was being driven by a female in Fremont area. The vehicle was known to be associated with Prasad. Soon the information was broadcast over the police radio about the vehicle and the active warrants and requested marked patrol units to assist with a traffic stop.
Thereafter, two patrol officers responded to the area, activated their emergency lights and siren, and stopped the suspect vehicle just prior to the intersection of Fremont Blvd. and Nicolet Ave. According to the investigation report, the driver of the vehicle stopped and Prasad fled from the right passenger side of the car on foot.
One of the patrol officers followed Prasad to the rear of a nearby petrol station. The officer soon stopped his vehicle and quickly got out to confront Prasad. Prasad pulled a firearm from his waist area and it appears that he fired one to two shots in the direction of the officer, police said. The officer drew his duty weapon, returned fire and broadcast over the police radio that the suspect had a gun.
Prasad ran back toward Fremont Blvd. This interaction was captured on video surveillance and was corroborated by statements of the involved officer and witnesses at the scene, the local police said in a statement. Additional police officers were rushed to the scene.
During the time the six officers were giving chase, Prasad pulled a gun from his waist area, pointed it in the direction of the officers and it appears he fired at least one round.
“This interaction is corroborated by the statements of the involved officers, statements of witnesses, the body worn camera footage and in-car camera footage of the event," the report said.
In response, the officers shot in the direction of Prasad, striking him several times, causing him to fall, it said. "On the ground, Prasad still had the weapon in his hand and officers fired additional rounds,” the report said.
Fremont Fire paramedics who arrived on the scene announced Prasad was deceased shortly thereafter. No officers were injured during the incident, the police said.
The driver of the vehicle was identified as Prasad's mother. She was transported back to the Fremont Police Department where she provided a statement to investigators. The firearm in Prasad's possession was a .22 caliber revolver. When officers examined the weapon at the scene, it had three spent casings and three empty cylinders. A records check revealed it was reported stolen. The recovery of the firearm from Prasad was captured via body worn camera and corroborated by witness statements.
