Photo of Hearns being shared on social media for support (Photo courtesy of family lawyer Samuel A. Anyan Jr)
Radazz Hearns, 14, remains in stable condition at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton after being shot five times in the right leg and once in the left leg. He also has a bullet lodged in his pelvis, said the teen’s lawyer Samuel A. Anyan, Jr. Hearns has still not been charged with a crime.
State troopers and officers with the Mercer County sheriff’s office were investigating reports of gunfire in the area, when they encountered three males walking down the street.
The officers got out of their vehicles to question the trio, and the 14-year-old ran. Authorities said the trooper shot the teen after a brief foot chase, but further details were not disclosed. Witnesses claim they never saw a gun and the teen was shot after “reaching for his waistband.” Authorities claimed to have recovered a weapon 12 hours after the shooting occurred.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has declined to reveal the names of the officers, why the teenager was shot, and what he will be charged with.
“We have gotten no information on what exactly officials are doing in terms of investigating this beyond it’s an ongoing investigation,” said community activist, Caitlin Fair. “And given the current climate, which has resulted from innumerable incidents of police brutality, misconduct, and cover up attempts, we do not trust the police to be investigated by themselves, or by any extension of their operation, including the [New Jersey] Attorney General’s office.”
On Wednesday night, the hashtag #WhyTheyShootMe began to trend on Twitter. The hashtag references the words of the teenage victim as he was placed on the stretcher.
#whytheyshootme are the words of the 14-yr old boy shot by PD in Trenton, NJ. We want answers. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/UoklEPIn4i
— Terrell Blount (@mr_bl0unt) August 13, 2015
Hearing about Black bodies, especially when they’re Black BABIES, being perceived as threatening is exhausting. #WhyTheyShootMe
— Ida Bae Wells (@DestinyAriel) August 13, 2015
Because Trenton PD doesn’t see 14yo black kids as humans deserving of anything less than bullets #WhyTheyShootMe
— Nadirah (@nadirahsimm) August 13, 2015
Because we are looked at as problems before we are looked at as people. #WhyTheyShootMe
— shelbEy (@revolutionarEY) August 13, 2015
