Christopher Roupe, 17, was shot
by a Euharlee police officer on Friday when he answered the door. Police say he
was pointing a handgun, not the video game device. Roupe was an aspiring
Marine, his family said.
BY IRVING DEJOHN /
A Georgia teen who dreamed of
being a Marine was killed by police at his front door while wielding only a Wii
remote, the family lawyer claims.
Christopher Roupe, 17, of
Euharlee was felled by a single police bullet when an unidentified officer
arrived at the family mobile home to execute a probation violation warrant
against his father, authorities said.
Meanwhile, police assert that
the teen pointed a gun directly at the female officer, prompting her to blast
the boy in the chest.
The circumstances of the tragic
shooting last Friday night are under reviewed by the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation, according to reports.
“It just doesn't add up,”
family attorney Cole Law told WSBTV. “He heard a knock at the door. He asked
who it was, there was no response so he opened the door and upon opening the
door he was immediately shot in the chest.”
Roupe, 17, was a member of the
ROTC at Woodland High School and was planning to sign up for the Marines, his
friends said.
“He was a good kid,” his pal
William Corson told WSBT.
Euharlee police said two
officers arrived at roughly 7:35 p.m. and Roupe answered the door with a gun
drawn — contradicting the lawyer and witness claims that he was unarmed, expect
for the video game device.
The officer, who has been
placed on administrative leave, broke down after she realized that she had shot
the teen at point-blank range, witnesses said.
“She put her head in her hands
and she was sobbing,” Ken Yates told WSBT. "Supposedly, he opened the door
with a BB gun and in my opinion I think he was playing a game with his
neighborhood buddies."
Roupe was transported to a
hospital in Cartersville where he was pronounced dead. The result of the
investigation will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office, police said.
Police directed all questions
regarding the shooting to the GBI. A spokeswoman for the unit did not
immediately respond to requests for comment.
A spokeswoman for the family
directed all inquiries to their attorney, who could not be immediately reached
for comment on Wednesday.
