Police officer kills suspect

LITTLE ROCK, AR – Family members of 15-year-old Bobby Moore say a Little Rock Police Officer shot and killed him Sunday morning.

Police say they received a call about suspicious activity at the Shadow Lake Apartments on Markham around 5am. Police say they found three juvenile suspects trying to break into cars. That's when police say Officer Josh Hastings shot and killed one of the suspects. The other two teens are in custody.

Police aren't releasing the names of the three juveniles yet, but Sylvia Perkins claims it’s her 15-year-old son, Bobby Moore III, who was shot and killed. She says she found out from one of the two suspects police are now questioning about what happened. "I'm a Momma. No Momma should sit out and wait this long and worry about if their child is dead or not."

Shanika Perkins, Bobby Moore's sister, says her brother didn't have a gun, so she doesn't understand why Officer Hastings shot him. Sylvia Perkins says regardless of what the three teenagers were doing, her son should not have been killed. Shanika Perkins says she's very hurt to see her little brother gone.

According to police, Officer Hastings says the teens jumped into a stolen Honda Civic parked nearby and started driving right for him. Sgt. Cassandra Davis says Officer Hastings reported feeling threatened. "He stated as the vehicle drove toward him, he felt threatened and fired into the vehicle."

Chearka Thomas is another one of Bobby Moore's sisters and says her brother didn't need to die. "My little brother tried to open the car door. I guess he was going to get out to talk to the police officer. It didn't go like that. The officer started shooting without asking any type of questions."

Police say the two other teens tried to run away, but are now in custody facing breaking and entering charges. "We are trained to stop the threat to prevent loss of life."

Sgt. Davis says Sunday morning's car break-in at Shadow Lake is just one of many in the last week in the same area. West Little Rock apartment complexes recently hit by car break-ins include on Green Mountain Drive, Hinson Loop Road, Rahling Road, and Markham Street. "It's hard to say whether there's been a rise or increase in auto B & E's at apartment complexes, but it is a common thing."

This isn't the only officer involved shooting recently either. Little Rock Police shot and killed a man after responding to a domestic disturbance at a home on Friday. "It's unfortunate as well as unusual to see 2 officer involved shootings in such a short amount of time, but you have to understand the nature of the job. There is a possibility an officer may be involved in a shooting."

Police say while they have contacted the parents of the teen shot and killed, they are not releasing any names. Officer Hastings is on paid administrative leave during the investigation.

At this point in the investigation it is unknown if these three juveniles are connected to the string of car break-ins at other apartment complexes in the area.