CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Family members identified the 18-year-old man who was shot and ultimately killed by Corpus Christi Police Department officers early Sunday morning on the corner of Everhart Road and Burney Drive as Dwayne Johnson.
Family members have scheduled a vigil for 7:30 p.m. Monday to honor the young father's memory in the O'Reilly's parking lot near where he was shot on Everhart Road and Burney Drive.
The president of Corpus Christi's H. Boyd Hall Chapter of the NAACP called a news conference Monday morning to address the second police shooting involving a Black man in the last three weeks.
"At this time, the NACP (sic), we have no opinion about what has occurred because we have not viewed any video footage or any additional evidence, but our support and sympathy go out to the family of the deceased," Jeremy Coleman said. "We also want to let our community know that the N-A-A-C-P does take this matter very serious. We're in no way making any allegations towards any such until the investigation is completed."
Calvary First Baptist Church of Corpus Christi Pastor Charles Richardson was at the gathering, and expressed sadness at having to counsel a second family from his parish in almost as many weeks.
Coleman, members of the group's leadership and Richardson met with Johnson's father before Monday's news conference, they said.
"What has occurred, we can not undo," the pastor said. "I love the family. I am praying for them, but I don't want it to continue. I had another young man that was shot, killed. I buried him about three weeks ago in my church. This makes the second person."
He offered suggestions he believes could help garner trust between the Black community and the police department in light of the shootings, including releasing body camera video.
"I want to suggest that as soon as possible that the video be released so that everyone could see it and it perhaps would calm down tensions and people could get answers to the questions that they have," he said.
CCPD Public Information Lt. Eryca Gonzalez said Monday that there is a lot of incorrect information floating around about the case.
"Some of those are: The suspect didn't have a weapon," she said. "There was a handgun. The suspect did have a handgun. There's also a false narrative that the officer involved had been in a previous officer-involved shooting. That is incorrect."
She did say police are reviewing video from the scene, including body-camera video.
In an attempt to help mediate some of the tensions before they begin, Richardson said, he also offered to host a conversation between the Black community and police in his church.
"I want to offer this as a preventative: Have a panel discussion with the police and the public where we can have a dialogue," he said. "They can ask questions, and the main focus would be: What to do if you are stopped or confronted by an officer. What is the proper procedure? What should we do and what shouldn't we do? Simply because I'm a pastor, I love my community, and I wanna see everybody go home. I wanna see the young men go home, and I wanna see the police go home. I want everybody to be able to go home, and we've got to find a way to prevent these things from occurring, because we need each other.
He also suggested police chief Michael Markle meet with members of the recent Coles High School graduate's family privately. Johnson's mother told 3NEWS she met with Markle for about an hour Monday afternoon.
Coleman said the NAACP had been in contact with police and Markle has promised as much transparency as the law allows. But he hasn't ruled out using the weight of his organization's resources to get to the truth, if it becomes necessary.
"The NAACP, from our state all the way to our national office, we have the tools and the resources to conduct investigations without utilizing (law enforcement), and we have made them aware of what's happening in Corpus," he said. "As Bishop Richardson mentioned, the last two individuals who have been shot and killed here in Corpus (were Black) -- so it's on their radar.
"We also want the community to know, and also our community leaders to know, that any forms of racial injustice that may occur, whether it's police brutality or any other forms of thereafter, the NAACP will ensure that it is investigated and that we take the necessary steps to review those complaints that come in."
The two officers at the scene of the shooting are on administrative leave, per department policy. Their names are not being released.