A young rapper was shot dead by six police officers after he fell asleep inside his car in a Taco Bell drive-through, his family has said.
Willie McCoy, who was known as Willie Bo and performed with the group FBG, was killed at a branch of the fast-food restaurant in Vallejo, California, on Saturday night.
A restaurant employee called 911 and reported seeing a person slumped over in the seat of a silver Mercedes, Vallejo Police Department said.
When officers arrived they “noticed the driver was unresponsive and had a handgun on his lap”.
The force added in a statement that when officers approached the vehicle the “driver began to suddenly move and looked at the uniformed patrol officers".
“Officers gave the driver several commands to put his hands up," the statement added.
"The driver did not comply and instead he quickly moved his hands downward for the firearm.
“Fearing for their safety, six officers fired their duty weapons at the driver.”
McCoy, who was 21 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene. Images show his car windscreen riddled with bullet holes.
A loaded handgun was recovered from the Mercedes, police said.
McCoy's family hit out at police over the incident. They believe he was racially profiled and the response of the officers was unjustified.
His older brother, Marc McCoy, told the Guardian: “There was no attempt to try to work out a peaceful solution.
“The police’s job is to arrest people who are breaking the law – not take the law into your own hands.
“You’re not judge, jury and executioner… We’re never going to get over this.”
His cousin, David Harrison, added in a video posted on Facebook: “You can't just keep killing us in the street like this.
“My little cousin was asleep in the car and they shot him 20 times.”
