Teenager shot by police in Prince William County dies

A 19-year-old from Woodbridge, Va., who police said was shot during an undercover drug operation last week died Sunday, Prince William County police said.

Jaiden Malik Carter was one of two males who police said were shot Thursday during an exchange of gunfire connected with an operation to investigate the potential distribution of fentanyl, an opioid.

A lawyer for Carter’s family released a video from a neighbor’s Ring camera that he said showed the shooting was unwarranted.

“It’s another example of unnecessary police brutality,” said the lawyer, Joshua Wilson. “I don’t believe there was an immediate threat to the police officers, yet they still felt the necessity to shoot into a vehicle that was backing up into an area that had no exit.”

Wilson said Carter was in the front passenger seat when an officer shot into the windshield and struck him.

“The police killed my Unarmed nephew with a head shot no questions asked!!!!” his aunt Mirza Avalos said in an instant message. The family is organizing a protest and candlelight vigil Saturday in Prince William’s Cloverdale Park.

The Arlington County Police Department is leading a criminal investigation into the shooting as part of a regional incident response team, and the police said the agencies involved in the shooting are not part of the investigation.

“We understand the family has emotions as to what happened and over the loss of their loved one,” said 1st Sgt. Jonathan Perok, a Prince William police spokesman. “We have said from the beginning there was exchange of gunfire, as to who was armed and fired specifically; the investigation will need to run its course to confirm details.”

Four detectives, two with the Prince William County police and two with the City of Manassas police, fired their weapons, police said. A 30-year-old man was also shot during the incident and is expected to live, according to police. The man and Carter “were the subject of the operation,” Prince William police said in an earlier statement.

Police said agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were part of the narcotics task force behind the operation

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/09/05/prince-william-police-shooting-carter/