Georgia cop shot dead teen holding a Wii remote at his front door

A Georgia high school boy who wanted to become a US Marine is shot and killed by a police officer as he held a video game controller in his hand.

On Friday night two police officers showed up at the front door of a house to do a probation violation against the 17-year-old Christopher Roupe’s father, RT quoted the student’s family members as saying.

Roupe was just preparing to watch a movie and when he opened the door holding a Wii game controller, the female officer thought he was pointing a gun at her and fired a bullet at the young boy, Euharlee Police Chief Terry Hagert said.

The victim was a senior at Woodland High School. The names of the two officers involved in the case were not released by the police.

Roupe was a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in high school and has friends who he helped at school.

“He was a good kid. He always hung out with me and he took up for me,” friend William Corson told WSB-TV.

Friday will be the day of his funeral, just one day before what would be his 18th birthday. Roupe wanted to join the Marines after finishing high school.

The female officer has claimed that the teenager pointed a firearm at her when he opened the door.

But, Cole Law, the family’s attorney rejected the claim.

“We don’t know where that statement came from,” Law said. “The eyewitnesses on the scene clearly state that he had a Wii controller in his hand. 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.”

“This is tragic. She came out of this house. She put her head in her hands and she was sobbing,” Neighbor Ken Yates who heard the gunshot and saw the female officer said. “Supposedly, he opened the door with a BB gun.”

The officer has been placed on administrative leave, Harget said.

Law added that the family is filing a lawsuit against the department while stating that the story simply “doesn’t add up”.

Euharlee is a city in Bartow County, Georgia, United States.