California police kill unarmed 22-year-old Sean Monterrosa after mistaking hammer for gun

The 22-year-old's final message to his family was a request for them to sign a George Floyd justice petition
Sean Monterrosa, 22, was shot by a Vallejo police officer responding to alleged looting

A young man was shot dead by police in California as he knelt with his hands up after officers mistook a hammer in his pocket for a gun.

Sean Monterrosa, 22, was killed after an officer shot five times through the windshield of his police car while responding to alleged looting in Vallejo, in the Bay Area.

Officials said Mr Monterrosa, from San Francisco, had been fleeing officers on foot before suddenly stopping and kneeling, placing his hands above his waist.

He was struck by a bullet after the officer opened fire on Monday night. The killing has caused outrage in the Bay Area and comes amid nationwide civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd in police custody.

Candles and signs left at the entrance to Vallejo city hall after Sean Monterrosa, 22, was shot by a police officer
AP

Mr Monterrosa’s sister Michelle told ABC7 News: "I cried. I cried because no one deserves that. He was surrendering.”

Another sister, Ahsley Monterrosa, said: “[He was] barely raising his hands and midway they shot him. They executed him, there was no reason for them to kill my brother like that.”

The sisters revealed that their brother’s final message was a group text sent 41 minutes before the shooting, asking them to sign a petition for justice for George Floyd.

Sean Monterrosa died in hospital after he was shot by a Vallejo police officer
KTVU

The 46-year-old African American was filmed gasping “I can’t breathe” before losing consciousness as a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis on May 25.

In a press conference Vallejo Police chief Shawny Williams said that the officer who shot Mr Monterrosa is an 18-year law enforcement veteran.

He and all officers that witnessed Mr Monterrosa's death shooting have been placed on routine paid administrative leave.

George Floyd Memorial - In pictures

1/38

Chief Williams added that the department has 45 days to release body worn camera video and would do so soon

The officer who fired the fatal shot has been placed on routine paid administrative leave as have the officers who witnessed Mr Monterrosa's death.

Melissa Nold, a Vallejo civil rights attorney representing Mr Monterrosa’s family, told the Guardian: "He wasn’t doing anything to warrant it. They shot him from inside their car.

"What opportunity did they give him to survive that situation? … It’s egregiously bad.”

Mr Monterrosa's family said he loved to read, and was involved in groups such as the Boys & Girls Club, and Horizons Unlimited, which supports Latino youth.

"These officers are going to continue to take people like my brother out, people like George Floyd and it hurts and it hurts," said his sister Michelle.

More than $100,000 has been raised to pay for Mr Monterrosa's funeral and more than 17,000 people have signed a petition calling for the officers involved in his death to be held accountable.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in