JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 16-year-old Jacksonville teen is dead, shot and killed by a Jacksonville sheriff's deputy during a chase. His friend managed to escape, but is known by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Police say both teens were armed Thursday afternoon when they were joyriding through a cemetery in Northwest Jacksonville.
"Look, look, look, police chasing somebody," said a witness who wished to remain anonymous.
A neighbor saw one teen and another guy armed with two handguns and called police. Two hours passed before an officer finally found them in a stolen car.
"The suspects were outside of the vehicle, saw him, ran towards the vehicle, speeding towards the exit of the cemetery where Sgt. Nobles was located," said JSO Chief Mike Bruno.
At a news conference Friday, investigators say the suspects used the car to ram the deputy off the road. That part of the chase ended when the suspect's car slammed into a tree and fence. Investigators say the suspects ran in different directions and one tossed away a black gun.
"I seen the guy run over to the gate. He was trying to jump over the gate. As he was jumping over the gate, two more shots was fired," said the witness.
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JSO said Kendre Alston, 16, was still armed and pointed his gun at Nobles.
"The driver got to the corner of the residence and took a crouch position. The driver then got in that crouch position, turned towards Sgt. Nobles. He felt threatened, he fired his service weapon," said Chief Bruno.
The witness says the shooting happened on the side of a nearby home but all he could see was the aftermath.
"I stood right here and watched them get that guy up off the ground," said the witness.
Action News has learned that Alston had a criminal history, which included charges like burglary. JSO said he found a way to get his hands on a stolen gun, and a car they say he used to ram into an officer.
"The age of the offender doesn't aggravate or mitigate the threat to the officer and to the community. The officer has to make that decision quickly," said Chief Bruno.
Sixteen or not, JSO says they have the right to use deadly force if their officers feel threatened, and that is exactly the reason investigators gave for killing Alston.
"How do you correct something that's gone out of control so bad," said the witness.
Even though JSO has programs to reach out to youth in the community, Law and Safety expert Dale Carson says it takes more than that.
"The community needs to step up because that's the solution. We don't want children to engage in criminal activity to begin with," said Carson.
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