ORLANDO, Fla. — The mother of a 17-year-old boy who was shot and killed by Orlando police defended her son Thursday.
But Orlando police said Omarri Williams was an armed robbery suspect, and they had no choice but to open fire.
Investigators said the call for help came in from one of the victims being robbed.
Officers responding to the robbery in progress shot and killed Williams at the Camden Reserve apartment complex late Wednesday night, investigators said.
The other robber ran away when police engaged them in a shootout in the parking lot of the complex, at the intersection of Lake Margaret Drive and Dixie Belle Drive, police said.
"As the officers responded to the scene, they observed the suspect firing a weapon at the victim. The officers engaged the suspect and exchanged gunfire and [the] suspect died as a result of the injuries," said Sgt. Vince Ogburn of the Orlando Police Department.
Williams' mother, Cheryl McKane, said her son was trying to get his life together and had just left Amscot to get a money order for the first and last month's rent for a deposit on his new apartment that she helped him pick out.
According to McKane, her son was not an angel. She told WFTV he liked to smoke marijuana, and that's why she recently kicked him out of her home.
But McKane said her 17-year-old son would have never pulled a gun on a police officer.
"Omarri [was] too chicken to pull a gun on anyone. He'll pull it to protect himself, but not a cop, come on," McKane said.
However, witnesses said Williams hitched a ride to the Camden apartments with a group of people he had just met.
WFTV learned Williams was going to help his mother with some things around her home.
Witnesses said that once inside the complex, the Williams realized the people had a large amount of cash and robbed them at gunpoint.
"I don't see that, and why would you try to rob someone with a pocket full of money? He was going to Amscot to get his money order to move into an apartment," McKane said.
A check of his criminal history shows Williams was in trouble earlier this year for violation of probation and failure to appear in court.
Police said the victims were so shaken that they had trouble helping them with a description of the second robber.
"Right now, we still have one person out there. We don't have too much of a description of him yet. [We are] trying to get the victims calmed down to give us that information," said Ogburn.
Police said, as always in cases like this, the officers who fired their weapons will be placed on standard administrative leave.
"They'll go through the standard procedure. FDLE will take over the investigation," Ogburn said.
Police said the people who were robbed were unharmed.