Dozens of activists gathered Wednesday outside the East Pittsburgh Police Department to protest the fatal police shooting of Antwon Rose, the 17-year-old killed Tuesday during a traffic stop in North Braddock.
Demonstrators stood in front of the station just before 6 p.m., holding signs and photos of Antwon, shouting his name and demanding answers about his death.
“If we don’t do it, ain’t nobody else out here going to do it for us,” 18-year-old Anyah Jackson said. “We’re not just going to let these people be out here murdering our children.”
Outside the police station, people lined up along the sidewalk with their backs turned to officers positioned across the street.
“If they want to shoot us, make them do it in our backs,” one speaker shouted into a megaphone, referring to a video recording of the shooting posted on Facebook that showed two people running from police who fire shots.
The rally spilled into the streets and blocked traffic near the intersections of Electric and Braddock avenues, a couple of blocks from the police station. Protesters held their fists up and signs that said, “Justice4Antwon” and “End Police Violence Now.”
They included Cathy Welsh, the mother of 16-year-old Jerame Turner, who was killed in a shooting in Turtle Creek in late November.
Ms. Welsh, who has been guiding Woodland Hills High School student activists since her son’s death last year, said this shooting impacted her family again. Antwon was her brother-in-law’s nephew, she said.
“I don’t understand it,” she said. “He wasn’t in the streets, ever. He was a good kid.”
The demonstration momentarily grew tense as an unmarked police vehicle drove through the crowd on Braddock Avenue, a dog barking from the back seat. Demonstrators surrounded the SUV and others sprawled out in front of the vehicle, staging what they called a “die-in.”
“I was born and raised in this city, and I shouldn’t be afraid to walk out the door,” 27-year-old Maya Randolph said.
After several hours, storms moved in. As rain fell, protesters sat in the middle of Braddock Avenue, police lights flashing behind them.
“Say his name,” they said. “Antwon!”
First Published: June 21, 2018, 3:21 a.m.