Family says man killed in Gary police shooting was trying to sell PlayStation game
Officials say Shahaud Richmond attacked an undercover officer
GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Shahaud Richmond's mother is deep in grief Thursday morning less than a day after her son was shot and killed by Gary Police officers.
Charmain Lee said she has not heard from Gary police after the shooting and still has not been able to see her son's body.
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"That was my heart," Lee said. "That boy, he lit my day."
In Gary, a mother in mourning.
"This is horrific," Lee said. "I don't even have words to explain how you died."
Lee, the mother of 21-year-old Shahaud Richmond searching for answers, after her son was killed by undercover Gary police officers just after noon on Wednesday
"If this was a veteran of 32 years, wouldn't he have more training?" Lee said.
The Gary Police Department says its Investigations Unit was conducting undercover operations on Wednesday after a surge in robbery reports connected to social media marketplace exchanges.
GPD said undercover officers, pretended to be buyers with the goal of arresting the robbery suspect.
Police said an officer approached Richmond just after noon on Wednesday on the 3400 block of Maryland to start the exchange when things turned violent.
"During that operation the suspect attempted to rob our undercover officer and attacked him with a machete style weapon," Gary Police Chief Derrick Cannon said.
"This is a lie," Lee said. "This is a lie."
Shahaud's mother who said she's seen surveillance video of the incident claims, the police narrative is not true adding her son was not armed with a machete.
She said her son was selling a PlayStation video game to make money for his growing family.
"All I know is the officer did not exchange the money and he took the game," Lee said. "He begins to take off like take off to provoke my son. So what does my son do? What would you do if someone stole something from you? You reach out and hit him."
That's when she said another officer across the street ran over and shot her son.
Police said Richmond died at the hospital while an officer injured in the encounter is recovering.
Charmain said Shahaud has a 1.5 year-old child and a second due in just 11 days.
"His kids are lost," Lee said. "He loved them. He dedicated himself to them."
She said they should be preparing for the birth of another child, but instead, "I have the weight of the world on my shoulders and I can't stop," Lee said.
The Lake County, Indiana, Sheriff's Department is investigating the officer involved shooting.
The officer involved in the shooting is on administrative leave.
