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By ERRIN HAINES WHACK, Associated Press
SWISSVALE, Pa. (AP) — Mourners displayed signs reading “Justice for Antwon” and “#SayHisName” in the funeral procession Monday for a black Pennsylvania teenager fatally shot by a white police officer as he fled a traffic stop a week ago.
The funeral for 17-year-old Antwon Rose was held in a school in the district he attended near Pittsburgh.
The messages in the windows of some of the cars were the only outward sign of protest after a week of demonstrations calling for the officer who shot Rose to be charged in the shooting. Protesters said there would be no demonstrations Monday out of respect for the family.
Some of the mourners heading into the service at the Woodland Hills Intermediate School wore purple, Rose’s favorite color.
Rose was killed Tuesday after police in the town of East Pittsburgh stopped a car officials say matched a vehicle wanted in a shooting in a nearby town. The shooting remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.
The boy’s mother, Michelle Kenney, told ABC News in an interview during the weekend that the officer “murdered my son in cold blood.”
“If he has a son, I pray his heart never has to hurt the way mine does,” Kenney said. “But I think he should pay for taking my son’s life.”
The case is among several across the country in recent years that have ignited a national debate over race and policing.
Officer Michael Rosfeld, who shot Rose, is on administrative leave. He told WTAE-TV last week he could not discuss the shooting but said he was getting a lot of support from law enforcement. His attorney did not return a call Monday seeking his comment on the family’s statements.
Rose was a passenger in a car pulled over by Rosfeld because police said it matched the description of a car wanted in a shooting in a nearby town.
As Rosfeld was taking the driver into custody, Rose and a second passenger fled. A video taken from a nearby house shows them running from the car.
Three gunshots can be heard, and the passengers can be seen either falling or crouching as they pass between houses. It is unclear from the video if Rosfeld yelled for them to stop.
Authorities said two handguns were retrieved from the car, and District Attorney Stephen Zappala said an empty gun clip was found in Rose’s pocket.
Lawyers for his family have said no evidence has been produced to show Rose posed a threat to police.