Police shooting leaves 15-year-old dead

BALCH SPRINGS, Texas - The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office has taken over the investigation of a police shooting that left a 15-year-old teenager in Balch Springs dead.

Family and friends identified the teen as Jordan Edwards. Police said they responded to a call of underage kids drinking at around 11 p.m. Saturday night on Baron Drive. When officers got there, police said they heard gunfire and said a car was aggressively backing down the street towards officers. Police said one officer opened fired.

Witnesses said the car drove off and other occupants later noticed Edwards was not speaking. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A representative for the family told FOX 4 News that a group of five young people were at a party when they heard gunshots and tried to leave in their car.

Police said one officer has been placed on administrative leave. The Balch Springs police chief addressed the incident during a Sunday afternoon press conference.

“We express our deep and sincere condolences to the family,” Chief Jonathan Haber said. “I have reached out and personally met and spoken with the parents and expressed my condolences.”

The shooting drew sharp concern from some in the community. The chief ended the news conference without addressing their questions.

Robbin McDonald has known Edwards' family for years. She said her son played sports with Edwards, who was a freshman at Mesquite High School.

“He was a straight A student, I can tell you he was always smiling,” McDonald said. “I can tell you he was a very, very brilliant and humble and very sweet kid.”

At the news conference, the Balch Springs police chief asked everyone to wait until investigators gather all of the information. 

“Over the last several hours, we've received threats through social media towards officers, also towards our community,” Chief Haber said. “We want to encourage everyone to please be patient.”