16-year-old boy killed by LAPD called 911 before the shooting and left a ‘farewell note,’ police say
Marian Petersen, 71, whose last protest was in the 1965 Watts riots, marches down Central Avenue to the LAPD’s Newton Division station after officers shot a Latino boy Sunday night.
A 16-year-old fatally shot by a Los Angeles police officer in South Los Angeles called 911 himself before the shooting and left his family a “farewell note,” leading investigators to believe he had a “desire to end his own life,” LAPD chief Charlie Beck said Thursday.
Coroner’s officials identified the boy Thursday as Daniel Enrique Perez, who police say was shot after pointing a realistic-looking replica gun at officers.
Beck said detectives identified Perez through a cellphone he was carrying, which was used to call 911 about 20 minutes before the deadly encounter. The caller reported a man with a gun matching Perez’s description, Beck said.
Advertisement
One of Perez’s parents believes it was the teenager on the recorded call, the chief added.
Based on that call, the note, Perez’s actions and his “prior history” described by family, Beck said he believed the shooting stemmed from Perez’s “desire to end his own life.” Beck declined to detail that history, saying he would not “put this family through any more trauma.”
“We are deeply saddened by these events,” the chief said. “The tragedy is hard to describe.”
The officer who shot Perez, Beck said, “is devastated.”
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck revealed new details about the investigation into the shooting Thursday at a news conference.
(Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times )
Advertisement
It was the second deadly shooting by LAPD officers during a roughly 24-hour span, coming soon after the controversial shooting of 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr., which prompted protests and stirred long-standing frustrations over how police treat residents of South L.A.
On Sunday, during a second night of demonstrations over Snell’s death, news spread of the second police shooting.
Officers went to 48th Street and Ascot Avenue after someone reported a man with a gun in the area, Beck said earlier this week. The officers spotted someone matching that description — a Latino man with a gray sweater and black pants — and began to approach him, Beck said.
Advertisement
That person, now identified as Perez, then turned and pointed a handgun at the officers, Beck said, prompting police to open fire.
Paramedics took Perez to a hospital, where he died later that evening.
The gun turned out to be a replica weapon, with its orange tip covered by black paint or pen, Beck said.
Police initially described the person shot as a man between the ages of 18 and 22. A second person near the scene was initially detained and questioned but did not know Perez or see the shooting, Beck said.
1/32
“It’s a shame that his life ended at 18 years old,” said Carlena Hall, center, a great-aunt of Carnell Snell Jr., who was fatally shot by LAPD police in South L.A. At left is Tranell Snell, 17, Snell’s sister, and at right is Debbie Washington, his aunt.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
2/32
Marian Petersen, 71, whose last protest was in the 1965 Watts riots, marches down Central Avenue to the LAPD’s Newton Division station after officers shot a Latino boy Sunday night.
(Allen J.Schaben / Los Angeles TImes)
3/32
Protestors march down Central Ave. to LAPD Newton Division to protest officers shooting a Latino man Sunday night. Protestors started at the site where police fatally shot a man Sunday in South Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
4/32
A protester holds a sign in front of the LAPD Newton Divison station on Monday night. Protesters started their march at the site where police fatally shot a Latino man Sunday in South Los Angeles.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
5/32
Carl Winzer lights candles at the scene where 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr. was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
6/32
“I literally watched my brother catch his last breath,” said Tranell Snell, 17, the sister of Carnell Snell Jr. “I literally watched him, begging him to stay alive for me. Please, please, I begged my brother. Please! They let my brother sit there, sit there and die. They did not care.”
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
7/32
Mike Miller sits amid dozens of candles that mark the house where 18-year-old Carnell Snell Jr. was fatally shot by Los Angeles police officers on Saturday.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
8/32
Jamari Brown, 13, holds a sign with other protesters at the site where a Latino man was fatally shot by officers Sunday night near 48th Street and Ascot Avenue.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
9/32
LAPD officers arrest a protester in the lobby of the police headquarters on suspicion of failure to disperse after Chief Charlie Beck gave details to the media about the shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
10/32
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck speaks at a press conference addressing two recent officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles.
(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)
11/32
Protesters shout at police officers inside the lobby of LAPD headquarters while Police Chief Charlie Beck provides details about the officer-involved shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
12/32
Protesters shout out their messege inside the lobby of LAPD headquarters after Police Chief Charlie Beck gave details to the media about the officer-involved shooting death of Carnell Snell Jr.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
13/32
LAPD officers move media and protesters away from the lobby of police headquarters after three protesters were arrested on suspicion of failure to disperse following a morning press conference.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
14/32
The Los Angeles Police Department disperses the crowd along 107th Street in Los Angeles. Four activists were arrested by LAPD.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
15/32
An activist is arrested by LAPD Sunday night after police gave orders to leave the area along 107th Street.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
16/32
Police officers talk with family members and residents along 107th Street, while dispersing the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in South Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
17/32
An activist is arrested by LAPD after they gave orders to clear the area along 107th Street. Protesters were rallying after police shot an 18-year-old in South L.A.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
18/32
Police disperse the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday night. Four activists were arrested by LAPD.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
19/32
Los Angeles police disperse the crowd along Western Avenue and 107th Street in South Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
20/32
LAPD disperse the crowd blocking Western Avenue after a vigil is held for Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit, in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
21/32
A women confronts the LA County Sheriif blocking the street after a vigil is held for Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by LAPD police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit, in Los Angeles.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
22/32
Jeromy Jackson lights candles at a vigil for his friend Carnell Snell Jr., 18, who was fatally shot by LAPD police Saturday after a vehicle pursuit.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
23/32
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s officials monitor protesters at 108th Street and Western Avenue after a vigil was held for Carnell Snell Jr. on Sunday.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
24/32
A young woman leaves blue and white balloons at a sidewalk memorial to Carnell Snell Jr. on Sunday afternoon.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
25/32
Neighbors brace a distraught Monique Morgan as she visits the scene where her son, Carnell Snell, 18, was fatally shot by police. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times )
26/32
Monique Morgan, the mother of Carnell Snell, is comforted by a neighbor as they look at a makeshift memorial for Morgan’s son.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
27/32
Bullet holes mark a steel gate at a residence along 107th Street in South Los Angeles, the scene of an officer-involved shooting on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. Police shot and killed Carnell Snell Jr., 18, after a brief car chase that ended near the intersection of 107th Street and Western Avenue in South Los Angeles.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
28/32
Monique Morgan, in blue shirt, pleads with Los Angeles police to let her see her son, Carnell “CJ” Snell Jr. Police fatally shot the 18-year-old man in South L.A. on Saturday, authorities say. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
29/32
A protestor holds up a sign in South Los Angeles after an officer-involved shooting.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
30/32
A crowd gathers at Western Avenue, where they voiced their frustration with police.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
31/32
Police line up along Western Avenue in Los Angeles after the shooting.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
32/32
Los Angeles police try to keep the peace.
(Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)
The officers who shot Perez were wearing body cameras. Beck said Thursday he had “no immediate intention” of releasing that footage, which he said “clearly depicts his actions and his death, which are entirely consistent with the officers’ version of events.”
One woman who said she watched the shooting from her family’s home across the street told The Times that Perez appeared to put his arms by his side, but that she could not see his hands. Tiffany Peterson, 45, said police fired again when Perez was on the ground.
The Los Angeles Police Department released this surveillance video of Carnell Snell Jr. just prior to the 18-year-old being shot and killed by police on Saturday.
Beck said earlier this week that the body camera footage “clearly refutes” reports Perez was shot while on the ground.
“That did not happen,” he added.
In a rare move earlier this week, Beck released a security video from the moments leading up to Snell’s shooting, which showed the 18-year-old holding a handgun. Beck said Snell later turned toward officers while holding the gun, prompting them to fire.
Many activists and residents of Snell’s neighborhood have questioned the police account of the shooting, including whether he had a gun.
Beck, generally a staunch advocate of keeping such videos confidential, said he released that footage out of concern for public safety as well as to correct what he described as “significant misinformation” about the events leading up to Snell’s death.
Kate Mather covered crime, policing and breaking news across Southern California before leaving The Times in 2018 to attend law school. A native of Lawrence, Kan., she studied journalism at USC before first joining The Times in 2011. Mather was part of the team of reporters that received a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 2015 terrorist attack in San Bernardino, as well as the team that was a Pulitzer finalist for its reporting on a deadly 2014 rampage in Isla Vista, Calif.
