Parents of Teen Fatally Shot by Police Officer File Suit

(City News Service) -- The parents of a 16-year-old boy who was fatally shot by a San Diego police officer while the teen was running away from gunshots fired by another person has sued the city and the officer involved.

In a complaint filed in San Diego Superior Court, Konoa Wilson's parents allege the boy was at the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego on the night of Jan. 28, when another person opened fire on him.

Wilson ran from the gunfire towards Kettner Boulevard where he encountered San Diego Police Officer Daniel Gold.

The lawsuit alleges that "instantly, without any warning," Gold fired two shots at Wilson, striking him in the upper body. Wilson was transported to UC San Diego Health Medical Center and was pronounced dead less than an hour later.

In trolley station surveillance footage released by the police department earlier this year, Wilson can be seen running after another person pulls out a gun and opens fire on him at the station's west platform.

Wilson can be seen running down a corridor leading out of the station and emerging on Kettner Boulevard just as Gold was running towards the same corridor.

Body worn camera footage shows the officer immediately fire on the teen at close range.

The video shows the boy screaming and running briefly before collapsing. Officers then began performing CPR on him and, while doing so, found a handgun concealed under the youth's clothing near his right thigh, according to police.

There are no indications that the teen fired his gun during the incident or was holding it when Gold, a two-year member of the police department, opened fire on him.

The lawsuit states, "At no point during these events did decedent brandish a weapon nor did he present a threat to the physical safety or well- being of defendant Gold or any other person. Decedent was simply running away from an unknown person who was shooting in his direction while he was on the train platform."

Police said the person who fired gunshots at Wilson was arrested just over a week later. The shooter was described only as a 16-year-old juvenile.

(Photo reporting partner 10News)


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