Police in Georgia on Friday served a warrant for a probation violation at the trailer park home of a man and his son, a 17-year-old aspiring Marine. In the process of serving the warrant on the boy’s father, an officer fatally shot the teen.
His crime: according to his attorney, he did nothing more than answer the door while holding a controller of a Nintendo Wii.
Police in Euharlee, Georgia – about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta – however, claim that Christopher Roupe pointed a gun at the female officer when he opened the door, which prompted her to fire a live round at the aspiring military man.
Tragic: Christopher Roupe, 17, planned to join the Marine Corps. after he finished high school
Mistake: Police claim Roupe was holding a gun. Witnesses, however, say he was holding a Nintendo Wii controller
No witnesses reported seeing the boy holding any weapons, and authorities won’t say whether a weapon was found at the scene.
‘It just doesn’t add up,’ Cole Law, who is representing the Roupe family, told wsbtv.com.
As for the claim that Roupe was holding a gun, Law says he’s seen no evidence supporting the officer’s claim.
‘We don’t know where that statement came from. The eyewitnesses on the scene clearly state that he had a Wii controller in his hand. He heard a knock at the door. He asked who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the door he was immediately shot in the chest,’ Law said.
Scene: Officers were serving a warrant on Roupe’s father for a probation violation when they shot the boy
Roupe was a student at Woodland High School and was an active member of the school’s ROTC program. Friends say he was a nice young man who always looked out for his friends.
‘He was a good kid. He always hung out with me and he took up for me,’ friend William Corson told the station.
After hearing the shots, neighbors in the small trailer park rushed to Roupe’s home to see what happened.
‘When we got up there, they said there was a Wii remote in his hand and she shot him,’ said Tia Howard, who lives a few doors down.
Another neighbor says he saw the officer who pulled the trigger after the shooting.
Witnesses: Roupe family attorney Cole Law says he’s seen no evidence to suggest the boy was holding a weapon
‘This is tragic. She came out of this house. She put her head in her hands and she was sobbing. Supposedly, he opened the door with a BB gun and in my opinion I think he was playing a game with his neighborhood buddies,’ said neighbor Ken Yates.
The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on administrative leave as the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the incident.
Once the investigation is complete, the GBI will turn its findings over to Cherokee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Rosemary Greene’s office.
Roupe’s funeral is planned for Friday.