Bodycam footage captured the moment Florida cops convinced a 14-year-old boy accused of shooting and killing his mother to lower the gun from his own head in a standoff that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
Following an argument, Adeem Berry allegedly shot his mother and left her for dead, then pursued her boyfriend, who fled on foot to a neighbor’s house.
Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a shooting in Riverview on September 16.
Dispatchers simultaneously received multiple calls reporting a young male running through the Summerfield subdivision with a handgun.
As police arrived on Lynmoor Drive, they encountered Berry, clad in a red t-shirt and jeans, who stood at a distance and repeatedly raised the gun to his head, threatening to shoot himself.
Berry’s brother later told them that the teen and his mother had been fighting before several gunshots rang out. Fearing that he was next, the sibling fled the home.
However, Berry’s next target was allegedly his mother’s boyfriend. After leaving her dying in a driveway, Berry ran around the subdivision to search for the man.
The boyfriend had also been hit by a bullet but managed to escape and was hiding in a neighbor’s house.
In the footage, a deputy repeatedly told Berry that he didn’t want to shoot him as they stood with several parked cars between them.
‘You don’t want to end it this way,’ the cop said, his voice hoarse. ‘You don’t want to end it this way, brother. I promise you.’
Berry continued to point the gun at his head as the officer pleaded for him not to fire.
‘Whatever happened today — it can be fixed,’ he said. ‘Don’t pull the trigger.’
At one point, he uttered the child’s name, saying: ‘Adeem, put it down, buddy.’
The deputy instructed Berry to walk forward with his hands raised all the way in the air as he moved slowly toward him, gun still pointed.
‘My gun is only out ’cause I don’t know what you’re gonna do,’ the cop said. He assured the boy that once he got closer, he would put the gun in its holster.
Berry put the gun down before reaching for it again.
‘Please don’t pick that back up,’ the deputy said.
Officers then fired a 40mm launcher at Berry. The bullet, described as a ‘less lethal round,’ that struck him in the hand.
The deputy continued to urge him to walk forward, waving him on encouragingly. He instructed the boy to lay down in the grass because the pavement would be too hot.
Eventually, the teen obliged and police rushed to handcuff him.
The deputy rolled the boy over and patted his pockets to check for other weapons. He asked Berry twice who he shot but the boy refused to answer.
With Berry standing and in handcuffs, the officer told the teen to look at him in the eye. The t-shirt the boy wore had Mario from the Super Mario games printed on it.
‘I don’t have a clue what just happened in there,’ the officer said. ‘We’re going to find out.
‘But whatever choices you made — that’s the best choice you made all day,’ he added, referring to Berry’s decision to spare his own life. ‘Thank you.’
As the teen was taken into custody, the deputies discovered his mother sprawled on a driveway down the street. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
During the de-escalation, other deputies rushed to rescue the mother’s boyfriend. They were able to get him to EMS personnel and he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
Sheriff Chad Chronister praised the deputies who negotiated with Berry for keeping their composure during the grueling 16 minutes.
‘They used their remarkable intuition and expertise to determine this suspect was not looking to harm them, but was contemplating suicide,’ he said.
Though the sheriff acknowledged the horrific aftermath of the crime.
‘This scene is one of nightmares and absolute heartbreak. This family’s life is forever changed,’ he said.
‘A victim’s life was taken, and because of his actions, the suspect’s life, as he knows it, is over. He will never see the outside of a detention facility for his crimes.’
Berry was charged with a string of felonies: murder in the second Degree with a weapon, attempted murder in the first degree premeditated firearm – discharge, and aggravated assault with deadly weapon.
Daily mail