Idaho State Police Shoots a knife-wielding teen… Family says he’s autistic
Published April 9, 2025 at 4:39 PM PDT
The rage is fostering a police shooting in Idaho… The video shows a group of police officers who shot and killed a knife-armed teenager, but the boy’s family says he is nonverbal, autistic and suffers from cerebral palsy.
The incident took place in Pocatello… Officers shot 17-year-old Victor Perez nine times in the yard outside his home, putting him in danger… According to the Associated Press, Perez also reported that he had to amputate his leg.
The video of Saturday’s shooting went viral… sparking protests outside the Pocatello PD. People say the four officers who responded to the scene appear to be trigger happy and question why they didn’t make much effort to escalate the situation before unleashing the bullet.
Play video content AP
The footage shot by a neighbor interacts with others and shows a teenager in the garden with a knife in his hand. Police arrive and the officer draws a gun and rushes to the yard.
They appear to be barking some orders, but police fire when the teens get up from the grass and take several steps towards the fence that separates them.
The teenage aunt said that Kifi-TV police didn’t ask what was going on when they arrived… and she says Victor can barely walk and has a 5-year-old brain.
Officers say they responded after receiving a 911 call reporting domestic obstruction involving a knife-wielding person who appears to be drunk. The boy’s family says he is not drunk when he is walking due to cerebral palsy.
Based on the video, it only took police about 12 seconds to shoot Perez after police reached his family’s home.
Pocatello Police Chief Roger Shay says officers will make the decision in seconds and evaluate the threat. He said in the shooting, “two individuals were within a few feet of an armed, unintegrated individual. The risks are immediate and the situation evolves rapidly.”
Schei said the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Task Force is investigating shootings involving executives.
