GLENDALE, Ariz. — An officer is now on administrative leave after killing a 15-year-old suspect Wednesday afternoon.
The teen reportedly had a stolen car and was shot by police when he allegedly went to reach for a gun inside the car.
"You didn’t have to kill him," said the teen's aunt Mary Martinez.
Martinez and other family members said it was her nephew, Juan Carlos Bojorquez, who was killed by police.
The 15-year-old was out in a car with his 16-year-old cousin Elijah Garcia at an apartment complex near 63rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road when police approached the car.
"They hop out and they point their guns and they’re like 'Put your hands up,'" Garcia remembered. "So, me and my cousin look at each other and we put our hands up."
Glendale police said officers, including some undercover, honed in on the car because it was reported stolen earlier that morning.
Police wouldn’t confirm the names of the teens involved because they’re minors, but said the 15-year-old was in the driver’s seat and the 16-year-old was in the passenger seat.
When officers went to apprehend the 15-year-old, police said he reached for a gun in the center of the car. At that point, an undercover officer shot him, ultimately killing the teen.
Elijah Garcia, who is not facing any charges and was released by police, said he saw it differently. Garcia claimed there was a gun in the car, but Juan Carlos wasn't reaching for it. Instead, he was trying to unclip his seatbelt.
"The officer tried to get him and the seatbelt was still on and he was getting pulled out and he got shot," Garcia said. "He didn’t ever grab the gun. He didn’t touch it. "
Alejandro Garcia, Elijah’s brother and Juan Carlos’s older cousin said he saw the same thing from the balcony at the apartment complex.
"He didn’t reach for that gun," Alejandro Garcia stated.
Police said the teen told officers there was a gun in the vehicle before he was shot.
Over email Thursday, Glendale police said their information remained the same - that the suspect was reaching for a weapon.
Glendale police said the officer who killed the teen didn't have a body camera because he was undercover but is working with other videos to try and piece together what happened.
Juan Carlos’s family members said they didn’t know why there was a gun or about the car being stolen, but wish things ended differently. They're planning to get a lawyer and want to see action taken after the officer-involved shooting.
"My nephew was in the wrong with a stolen vehicle," Martinez said. "But c’mon. No one deserves to die like that. Nobody."
Bojorquez's family set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
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