Antwon Rose/Facebook(PITTSBURGH) — Authorities took issue with multiple “irresponsible” reports about the police shooting of East Pittsburgh teenager Antwon Rose — a case that has gained national attention and generated local protests in the past three days.
Rose, 17, was shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday night after the teen and two others were pulled over in a car believed to have been connected to an earlier shooting that night.
The deadly shooting was caught by a bystander on cellphone video, which is being reviewed by authorities.
The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office released a lengthy statement on behalf of Allegheny County Police Superintendent Coleman McDonough disputing a report that surveillance video showed Rose firing a gun in connection with the shooting earlier in the night.
“The Allegheny County Police Department (ACPD) continues to receive inquiries related to reports from police sources that 1) a video of the drive-by shooting in North Braddock shows Antwon Rose firing a gun; and, 2) that gunshot residue has been found on Antwon Rose’s hands,” the statement reads.
“While ACPD does have a video showing the North Braddock incident, that video does NOT show Antwon Rose firing a gun,” the statement adds. “The information about gunshot residue is also false. Crime Lab reports are still pending and have not yet been issued.”
Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA had reported both pieces of information, attributed to anonymous sources, earlier in the day Friday.
The D.A.’s office admonished the media for the reports.
“We caution the media about providing irresponsible information from sources that are not verified,” the office said in its statement. “Once published, such false information can be widely spread. We share your interest in providing answers to the many questions in our community, and are working expeditiously to gather all of the available information and detail so that it can be reviewed, and answers provided.”
District Attorney Stephen Zappala reported on Friday that an empty gun ammunition clip was found in Rose’s pocket after the shooting. He did not have a gun, authorities said.
In an interview with Pittsburgh ABC affiliate WTAE, Zappala confirmed the video of the first shooting and that the car Rose was in matched the description given by witnesses.
East Pittsburgh is about 11 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.
The officer who shot Rose was identified by the Allegheny County Police Department as 30-year-old Michael Rosfeld, who had been on the job for just three weeks. The Allegheny County Police Department is leading the investigation into the shooting. Zappala said he expected Rosfeld to be interviewed Friday.
Protests continued late into the night on Friday, with marchers rallying outside PNC Park, where the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, and on Homestead Grays Bridge, which crosses the Monongahela River between East Pittsburgh and Homestead, Pennsylvania.
Several arrests were made, WTAE reported, though the marchers were largely peaceful.
Zappala said Friday he does not plan to turn over the case to the state Attorney General’s office.
ABC News’ Kenneth Moton contributed to this report.Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.