Vigil held after man shot, killed by police during traffic stop in Pasadena
PASADENA, Calif. (KABC) -- A vigil was held Saturday night in the Pasadena neighborhood where a man was shot and killed by police officers during a traffic stop.
Relatives and friends identified the victim as 32-year-old Anthony McClain.
"I think it's a shock to our whole community, just knowing him as somebody I went to school with, not really close but went to school with him and then in the community," said Brandon Lamar.
The deadly encounter happened around 8 p.m. Saturday night. Authorities say two officers pulled a vehicle over on N. Raymond Avenue near Washington and noticed that the passenger had a gun.
"During that encounter there were shots fired. Our officers fired multiple times," said Pasadena Police Chief John Perez.
"I cannot tell you at this time if the individual in the car who had the gun, whether he fired it or not, we don't know that fact as of yet," Perez said.
Police say McClain ran away from the car after being wounded and collapsed in the street. He died after being hospitalized.
"A routine traffic stop turns into the death of another African-American young male and we're saying that we're fed up with that," said Pastor Kerwin Manning with Clergy Community Coalition.
McClain's family members were in the large crowd that gathered for the vigil, many leaving candles at a memorial. His death comes in the wake of several controversial police shootings and protests calling for justice system reform.
Perez says he plans to release police body cam footage of the shooting.
"We want to see something put in place that will ensure the community that we we have accurate information as soon as possible, without it being edited, without it being redacted," Manning said.
Police said they recovered a handgun at the scene.
The investigation is ongoing.
Man dead after officer-involved shooting in Pasadena
