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HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (FOX 26) - Investigators are still trying to piece together what happened that night, but the family of the 16-year-old boy who died while holding up this Jack-in-the Box says they know what should not have happened -- police should not have opened fire.
"This was an execution. None of us are condoning what the young men did. Robbery on any level is wrong. Robbing anybody is wrong. But executing someone and setting the stage to justify it is wrong," said activist Quanell X.
Last Monday night, a multi-agency task force headed by the sheriff's office was tracking a crew of four that was believed to have pulled off 10 armed robberies. Investigators said they confronted the crew as it was charging in to rob the Jack-in-the-Box. Police said it was a shootout. Quanell X and the family met with the sheriff, who they said told them there was no shootout, only police and DPS troopers shooting at the now cowering and unarmed robbers.
"One of the guns was a toy. The other gun was thrown on the ground as he was trying to hide," said Quanell X.
Bullets struck three robbers, killing one and injuring two. Police arrested them and the getaway driver. Quanell X says the plan was to wait until they were all in the car and away from the restaurant before arresting them.
Sheriff Gonzalez says it does not appear to him the robbers opened fire, but that's his opinion right now. He said he only spoke in general terms about the incident and avoided specifics during what he called a courtesy meeting with the family. He says he told them has not seen security camera footage and is leaving the investigation to the investigators.
""However they interpreted that I don't know. But I did preface my comments by saying keep in mind this is still ongoing and they understood that," Sheriff Gonzalez said.