Investigators are seeking to determine whether a toy water gun was at the center of the death of a New York teenager who was fatally shot in the face by an off-duty officer.
New York Police Department corrections officer Dion Middleton has been arrested and faces murder charges related to the death of 18-year-old Raymond Chaluisant, the agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner. He has been placed on suspension without pay and faces termination if convicted, according to authorities.
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Chaluisant was found unconscious in a car around 1:35 a.m. on Thursday with a gunshot wound to his face after officers responded to the scene in the Bronx near the intersection of the Cross Bronx Expressway and Morris Avenue. His body was found about a half-mile from where the shooting occurred, police said. Authorities transported the teenager to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Middleton was arrested, and he faces charges of murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to police.
Police have not yet provided a motive for the shooting, but investigators are seeking to determine whether a toy water gun found near Raymond’s body contributed to his death, officials told the Washington Post. The toy gun shoots water bead pellets.
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It’s not clear whether Raymond pointed the gun at the officer prior to his death, authorities told the outlet. The teenager was playing in a water gun fight with friends in the hours before he died, his sister told the New York Daily News.
“They were just having fun,” Jiraida Esquilin said. “It’s a new nerf gun that shoots water. The whole neighborhood was having a water gun fight. It was 90 degrees.”
