Family of teen killed by Prince William County police says shooting of their son unnecessary

HAYMARKET, Va. - A Virginia family is finally speaking out about the loss of their 15-year old son after Prince William County police shot and killed him during a standoff at the family's home last Friday.

Investigators said an officer was forced to fire his service weapon when the teenager threatened officers with a crowbar.

Three days after the fatal shooting, the Urbina family is still in shock. The boy's 18-year-old brother, who witnessed the shooting, still hasn’t come home because he is still too traumatized from the incident.

The family did not want to release their son's name yet, but told FOX 5 he is an honor roll student at PACE West in Gainesville. He loved skateboarding and Taekwondo.

The teenager was fatally shot by a police officer who responded to his home on Hartzell Hill Lane Friday morning. Police said they received a 911 call from inside the home that someone had a bomb strapped to their chest and was holding a family member hostage. When officers arrived, they saw the 15-year-old boy in front of the home.

Police said at some point, he started coming towards officers with a crowbar in a threatening manner and ignored their commands to put it down. One officer fired and shot the teenager in the upper body and he died in front of his home.

The boy’s family did not want to talk about what led up to the shooting and they said he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They would not talk about if he was possibly suffering from any mental issues.

However, they said there was no reason to kill their son and this was an unfortunate example of police brutality.

“Our little kid, only 5 foot, so skinny,” said Oscar Urbina, the 15-year-old’s father. “Big policeman – come on. You have a Taser. Then perhaps take him to a hospital to evaluate. That is what should have happened … It’s horrible. We are still grieving him and we just came from cremation just a few minutes ago and for just someone to come out and say, ‘Oh, it’s justified. Okay, goodbye.' No, no, you can’t say goodbye to us. Our family has been destroyed. We will never have a life.”

On Tuesday, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County is expected to announce whether or not they believe the shooting was justified.

Meanwhile, the officer who fired his weapon has been placed on routine administrative leave.

A funeral for teenager is planned for Wednesday.