GOOD SHOOT OR BAD SHOOT?

Kansas principal's son, 17, is shot dead by police responding to reports of a suicidal person at his home

By Snejana Farberov

Daily Mail
January 22, 2018

A police officer in suburban Kansas City has shot dead a 17-year-old boy while responding to a report of a suicidal person.

The police-involved shooting that took the life of high school student John Albers took place in Overland Park, Kansas, on Saturday night.

According to a statement from the police department, officers responded to the 9300 block of West 149th Terrace to perform a welfare check for a suicidal man.

As they approached the Albers family's home ‘to make contact,’ the garage door opened and a vehicle drove out,’ moving rapidly’ toward one of the responding officers.

The officer pulled out his service weapon and shot the 17-year-old driver, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Albers was a junior in the Blue Valley school district, where his mother is a principal at Harmony Middle School.

Family members said in a statement to the station KCTV on Sunday that they are ‘heartbroken’ and expressed thanks for the ‘thoughts and prayers.’

The incident is under investigation, and the officer who fired the fatal shots was placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure in such cases.

Overland Park Police Capt. Keith Jenkins described the unnamed officer as feeling 'very shook up,' reported the Kansas City Star.

On Sunday night, a candlelight vigil honoring Albers' life was held at Sunset Ridge Elementary School, where he attended school as a child.

'We want to remember him in a way that's honorable,' Albers' friend Gabriel Bright told the station Fox 4 KC. 'I believe that this vigil brings awareness to how good he was. He wasn't always painted in the best light. I also think it brings awareness to suicide as he was suicidal.'

Blue Valley Northwest High School staffer Megan Geenens said she held a special bond with Albers, who was in her class as a sophomore.

'John had a heart of gold,' Geenens told Blue Valley Northwest News. 'He loved everyone around him. People should learn from his kindness and carry that on with him as they move forward from this tragic event.'

John Albers is survived by his parents, Sheila and Steve Albers, and his two younger brothers.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Cops shooting at a driver trying to run them down are not all that uncommon. However, in most instances, the driver was just trying to escape rather than deliberately trying to run over an officer. This begs the question of whether or not the officer could have simply jumped out of the way of the approaching car.