A 23-year-old Texas university student was shot dead by a police officer during an altercation in which the unarmed and usually mild-mannered student allegedly assault the officer and asked, “Oh, you’re going to shoot me?”
The officer did in fact shoot him six times, killing him.
Robert Cameron Redus is an honors student at the University of the Incarnate Word, a private Catholic institution in San Antonio, Texas. Redus’s friends describe him as “not aggressive,” “gentle,” and “well-liked,” according to local news.
UIW police officer Chris Carter pulled over Redus at 2:00 a.m. on Friday night for unknown reasons. The argument between the two quickly became heated, and Redus attacked, according to an Alamo Heights Police Department press conference. Redus successfully wrestled Carter’s police baton out of his hands, and started beating him over the head with it.
Carter reacquired the baton, and told Redus that he would open fire if the student refused to surrender. According to Police Chief Richard Pruitt, Redus charged the officer once again, forcing Carter to shoot him.
A neighbor who overheard the exchange said that Redus asked the officer if he was going to shoot.
“’I heard [a man] say, “Oh, you’re gonna shoot me?” like sarcastic almost,’” said the neighbor.
Carter fired six times.
Devastated friends described Redus’s alleged behavior that night as strange, given the student’s usual demeanor.
“He’s not an aggressive person at all,” said Sarah Davis, in a statement to local news. “The story just doesn’t really make sense to any of us.”
The officer in question has been placed on leave pending an investigation. The university said that Carter has an “extensive law enforcement background.” But according to the San Antonio News, Carter has held eight different jobs in his eight years as an officer.
The police department did not respond to a request for comment.