Central Jersey
Trenton teen who was shot by police was unarmed lawyer says
A lawyer for a Trenton teenager who was shot by police says his client was unarmed when he was shot 7 times.
Recently we reported that a 14-year-old boy was shot in Trenton by police last Friday in what authorities say was a chase that led to a shooting. The teenager remains in stable condition and no charges have been filed against him.
Usually we don’t identify minors in these types of situations but for this purpose and the cause we want to bring awareness to the situation. Authorities say 14-year-old Radazz Hearns was carrying a weapon during a chase where he was shot by police 7 times, 5 times in the right leg, once in the left leg and has a bullet lodged in his pelvis, said his lawyer Samuel A. Anyan Jr..
“He’s lucky to be alive,” Anyan said to nj.com, speaking out on behalf of the family for the first time since the shooting. “We’ll be seeking justice. This appears to be an unjustified shooting.”
Two State Police troopers and a Mercer County sheriff’s officer were responding to a report of shots fired at the Prospect Village apartments when they encountered three males walking along Louise Lane, according to the Attorney General’s office, which is investigating the shooting.
The three officers got out of their vehicle to question the trio and the 14-year-old ran, authorities said. Witnesses told authorities they saw the teen reach for his waistband before one of the troopers and the sheriff’s officer opened fire, the Attorney General’s office has said.
A .22-caliber handgun was recovered nearby from under a car on Calhoun Street 12 hours after the shooting, according to the Attorney General’s office, which has declined to name anyone involved in the shooting.
The teen was shot seven times, according to Anyan, and at least three other bullet holes are visible at the scene – two in a nearby car and another in the siding of a house.
Anyan said he’s spoken to witnesses to shooting who would testify Hearns never had a gun.
A witness, Rhonda Tirado, told nj.com that she was sitting in front of her Trenton home Friday around 10:20 p.m. when she saw an unmarked gray minivan abruptly stop across the street and three police officers got out to question the trio of teens.
She saw Hearns, who she only knows by his nickname “Rha Rha,” run from the officers, and then the gunfire erupted, she said.
“Those police were amped and they didn’t give that little boy a chance,” Tirado said Wednesday, while re-enacting the shooting where the encounter started. “There was no room for no chase. They just shot that little boy right there.”