St. Louis Police Fatally Shot a 17-year-old, Mother Demands Justice

The mother of a 17-year-old is fighting for justice and accountability after St. Louis police fatally shot her son. The teen had celebrated his birthday just a few weeks before he was killed during an encounter with police.

The 17-year-old victim was identified as Emeshyon Wilkins, who, in his mother’s words, loved to make people laugh and whose smile made the toughest moments easier. He loved math and talked about working and saving money to build a life after high school.

His mother, Shaina Wilkins, said she had him when she was 17 years old. “We kind of grew up together,” Wilkins said, according to CBS News.

The incident occurred in June last year. The attorney released body camera video showing the 17-year-old being shot in the back of the head as he ran away from police.

The footage contradicts an earlier police statement that the boy had pointed a gun at officers. The video does not show him holding or pointing a weapon.

According to police, the encounter began when officers attempted to stop an SUV reported stolen. After a brief pursuit, the teenager ran away, according to the video. An officer is heard shouting for him to get on the ground and to drop the gun before officers fired. Officers fired four shots, and one struck the victim in the back of the head, fatally wounding him.

According to a lawsuit filed by the family, a firearm was later discovered in Wilkins’s pocket; the weapon was disassembled and incapable of firing. Shaina Wilkins, the victim’s mother, said what she saw in the video was devastating. “My son won’t … He is gone, never coming back,” she said.

The defense attorney, Albert Watkins, told CBS News there is more to the story than initially reported, including how Wilkins came to be in the vehicle. Watkins said the teenager saved money from working at McDonald’s and bought the car from someone in the neighborhood, unaware it had been reported stolen.

“He saved his money and paid for that car, paid the guy in the neighborhood. Of course, that side of the story will not come out because he is dead,” the attorney said.

Watkins also said that the disassembled gun in her son’s pocket should not have mattered because it could not fire, and Missouri is a concealed carry state. However, the victim was too young to carry a firearm legally. “You can have a gun in your pocket, in your pants up your a**, it doesn’t matter,” Watkins said.

The case has also raised questions about transparency and accountability within the department.