Now in the police's defense, they heard shots had been fired and that there were victims so they undoubtedly had a heightened sense of excitement, but the fact the police opened fire on a person that to date has not been shown to have a gun (he had a bike lock that the chief tried to describe as "very heavy") in a crowded store is inexcusable.
We don't know everything yet, but there are a few possibilities:
1. They showed up, saw the suspect, and opened fire.
2. He went after them with his bike lock so they responded by opening fire.
3. The suspect had a gun, but for some reason it hasn't been found yet. (And there are no reports of him shooting at police.)
In none of those situations are the police justified in my opinion in opening fire in a crowded store. Police, yet again, are too quick to resort to violence.
I know we had a thread where we're tabulating some of these stories, but I didn't want to do the search.
A tragic situation for the girl's family.