NAACP, Mayor of Titusville will host community meeting after police kills man during "suspicious" incident
Tensions high in Titusville after officer involved shooting
Tensions are high in Titusville after an officer involved shooting left Tri-Marea Charles dead Friday night. FOX 35's Esther Bower has the latest.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Tensions are high in Titusville after a man was shot and killed by police on Friday night.
What we know:
Tri-Marea Charles was shot and killed when Titusville police said they were responding to a "suspicious incident" investigation.
The mayor of Titusville wants to hear community concerns and answer questions relating to what happened. Andrew Connors is co-hosting a community meeting with the NAACP on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Gibson Center in Titusville.
RELATED: 1 dead following officer-involved shooting in Titusville, officials say
He says the entire community is hurting after this shooting. He wants to make sure the investigation is transparent, and people get closure.
"They overtly killed my baby. They shot my baby in the back, and I want answers. I want justice, and I’m not going to stop until I get answers," said Samantha Charles whose son was killed in the shooting.
She’s shattered from the loss.
"It’s been hard, very hard, difficult, me and my daughter, things I can’t even explain," said the grieving mother.
The mayor of Titusville says it’s also hard for him to explain what happened because the investigation is far from over.
Officer-involved shooting in Titusville
One person is dead following an officer-involved shooting that took place Friday night. The Titusville Police Department, as well as other agencies, are investigating the incident.
"I know there’s frustration especially when you don’t have the information," said mayor Andrew Connors.
All Titusville Police are saying right now is they responded to Robbins Avenue around 9:15 p.m. for a suspicious call.
Police say the victim had a gun, and shots were fired. Witnesses say Tra-Marea wasn’t doing anything wrong.
"All the gunshots that was fired from fired from the officers. He was no threat," said shooting witness Renissia Dixon.
RELATED: Titusville Police Chief speaks after officer-involved shooting
FDLE is taking the lead on the investigation as the public demands accountability.
"The officers need to lose their jobs. That’s what they need to be," said Shana Samarrippas who also witnessed the shooting.
The mayor is asking the community to have patience and to let the investigation play out.
"If the officer didn't act appropriately, then we’ll obviously hold them accountable, said Connors. "That’s my job as the elected representative to hold government accountable in any form."
What we don't know:
At this time, police have not said if they recovered a gun on the victim at the scene.
FOX 35 also asked Titusville Police for the 911 calls and bodycam. We were told that could be not released at this time.
Connors says he will make sure that’s released when the investigation is over.
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The Source: The information in this article comes from reporting done by FOX 35's Esther Bower.