Funeral Held for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Teen Shot by Police, Amid Protests | Sojourners

Funeral Held for Antwon Rose, Unarmed Teen Shot by Police, Amid Protests

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The funeral for Antwon Rose Jr., the unarmed black teen shot by a police officer in Pittsburgh last week, was held on June 25, according to CNN

Protestors have marched the streets of downtown Pittsburgh since Rose, 17, was fatally shot three times by an East Pittsburgh police officer as he ran from a vehicle, after it was stopped by police who were investigating a nearby shooting. Rosfeld, the officer believed responsible for the shooting, was sworn in the same day as the shooting. 

The protests were put on hold for the funeral at Woodland Hills Intermediate School in Swissvale, Pa., where Rose was once enrolled as a student.

Al Jazeera reports:

Police said they also have video of the nearby incident that prompted Rosfeld to pull over the vehicle Rose was in.

"It's good evidence, and it explains exactly what happened in North Braddock and the 13 minutes - not all 13 minutes - but then there's 13 minutes that transpires from that point until the time of the [fatal police] shooting," District Attorney Stephen Zappala told reporters on Friday.

Zappala also confirmed that Rose had an empty 9mm clip in his pocket, but was not armed when Rosfeld shot him.

"I see mothers bury their sons. I want my mom to never feel that pain," Rose reportedly wrote in a poem two years prior to his death. "I am confused and afraid."

Antwon's funeral, held June 25, fell on what would have been the 16th birthday of Tamir Rice, was also killed by police brutality in 2014 when he was 12 years old. 

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