Florida Plainclothes Officer Fatally Shoots Local Church Drummer
Florida police are investigating an incident in which a plainclothes officer fatally shot a local Church drummer.
NBC News reports officer Nouman Raja shot and killed 31-year-old Corey Jones off Interstate 95 early morning Sunday. According to police, Raja was in an unmarked police vehicle when he came across what he believed to be an abandoned car. He was then approached by an armed subject.
"As a result of the confrontation, the officer discharged his firearm resulting in the death of the subject, Corey Jones," the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department said in a statement.
Jones was a talented drummer and frequent churchgoer. He was well known at the Bible Church of God in Boynton Beach, Florida where his grandfather was a bishop. Jones was also a member of the band Future Prezidents.
According to bass player and bandmate Mathew Huntsberger, Jones called for help early Sunday morning when his SUV broke down on the highway in West Palm Beach. Huntsberger brought some oil out to Jones, but when that failed, he left after Jones decided to call for a tow truck.
"When I left him he was sitting in his car calling roadside assistance," Huntsberger said to the Washington Post. "I never would have thought that someone was going to come kill him."
Friends and family say Jones was a laid-back, meek man and not prone to violence. It is uncertain if Jones even owned a gun, and many are skeptical that he would pull a weapon on anyone.
"They're saying he was armed, but I don't know if I believe it," Huntsberger said. "Of course they're going to say that. If I was there, maybe it's a different situation. I just don't know what happened."
Palm Beach Gardens is a majority white city made up of 50,000 residents. The Washington Post said they contacted the police department and sheriff's office for comment, but were unsuccessful.
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