Brother of officer-involved shooting victim speaks out

One man was killed in an officer-involved shooting Sunday evening.

It happened in a mobile home park off North Avenue, between 28 1/4 and 28 1/2 roads.

“It was so fast, it just seemed like just a matter of seconds,” said Rosendo Gomez, the shooting victim’s brother.

Gomez gave an emotional response as he spoke out about the incident. He believes the officer who shot his brother used excessive force.

“My brother had the sweetest heart, he would pull the shirt off his back for anybody,” Gomez said sobbing.

The victim has not been identified by authorities, but his brother said he wanted to speak.

“His wife comes out and tells us Simon (Rosendo’s brother) had locked himself in the house with the kids and locked her out,” said Gomez, who lives across the street from his brother.

He says he didn't want to get involved with what he called a "domestic dispute."

“They’ve had their spats and you know, she's called the cops like a million damn times,” said Gomez. “They never took him away or anything because there was nothing he did wrong.”

Rosendo left the house Sunday afternoon. When he came back he saw the chaos.

“One of the officers went out there and got a battering ram and hit the door four or five times. That’s when I hear four shots consecutively, it was just a point and fire four shots one right after another,” said Gomez. “To me when I heard it, I knew that was a kill shot.”

Rosendo recounts the incident and what a police officer on scene told him.

“He (the police officer) said my brother had knives to the kids’ throats. Well if the officer shot at him, with the kids in there, didn't he think he could have killed one of the kids too? So I believe that my brother was giving up and that's when he shot them,” said Gomez.

He said his brother had been in trouble, but that was in the past, and he thinks he had changed.

“My brother was on parole, yeah, but he wouldn't hurt those kids,” Gomez said. “If he would have, he would have done his wife and the kids a long time ago.”

Police said the case remains very active and it’s still early in the investigation.

Authorities haven't confirmed the identity of the victim, they're awaiting an autopsy, which is expected to be performed on Monday.

Police said an investigation is underway into the incident, while the officer who fired the shot is on administrative leave—standard protocol, whenever an officer fires a weapon.