Intellectually disabled teen shot by Idaho police dies after being removed from life support

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Intellectually disabled teen shot by Idaho police dies after being removed from life support

2025-04-13 06:47 Last Updated At：06:50

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An autistic, nonverbal teenage boy who was shot repeatedly by Idaho police from the other side of a chain-link fence while he was holding a knife died Saturday after being removed from life support, his family said.

Victor Perez, 17, who also had cerebral palsy, had been in a coma since the April 5 shooting, and tests Friday showed that he had no brain activity, his aunt, Ana Vazquez, told The Associated Press. He had undergone several surgeries, with doctors removing nine bullets and amputating his leg.

Police in the southeast Idaho city of Pocatello responded to a 911 call reporting that an apparently intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard. It turned out to be Perez, who was not intoxicated but walked with a staggered gait due to his disabilities, Vazquez said. His family members had been trying to get the large kitchen knife away from him.

Video taken by a neighbor showed that Perez was lying in the yard after falling over when four officers arrived and rushed to the fence at the edge of the yard. They immediately ordered Perez to drop the knife, but instead he stood and began stumbling toward them.

Officers opened fire within about 12 seconds of getting out of their patrol cars and made no apparent effort to de-escalate the situation.

“Everybody was trying to tell the police, no, no,” Vazquez said. “Those four officers didn’t care. They didn’t ask what was happening, what was the situation.”

“How’s he going to jump the fence when he can barely walk?” she said.

The shooting outraged Perez’s family and Pocatello residents, and about 200 people attended a vigil Saturday morning outside the Pocatello hospital where he was treated. Another crowd of protesters gathered outside the Pocatello City Hall building, which also houses the police department, on Saturday afternoon. Police snipers were stationed on a nearby rooftop during the protest, though no violence was reported. Many of the protesters held signs with phrases like, “Do better, PPD” and “Justice for Victor,” and passing cars honked in acknowledgment.

A police spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

“Those police broke our family,” Vasquez said on Saturday, shortly after Perez' death. “There is no way to explain the pain that we are feeling right now. It's like our hearts are kind of empty — it's not full anymore.”

The officers, whose names have not been released, were placed on administrative leave.

Decisions about whether charges should be filed against them will be made after an independent investigation by the Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Team, Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson told the AP via email.

“When that investigation is complete a report will be submitted for review,” he said. “In a continued effort to ensure independent and objective consideration, said report will be reviewed by an agency outside of Bannock County.”

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said in a statement Friday, after the family announced that Perez had no brain activity, that officials’ thoughts and prayers were with them.

“We recognize the pain and grief this incident has caused in our community,” Blad said.

Blad said Thursday that the city was “addressing this matter with the seriousness and thoroughness it deserves and with the appropriate respect for the gravity of the situation.”

“The criminal, external, and internal investigations regarding the officer-involved shooting are underway, which is why we cannot answer questions out of concern of interfering with or compromising the investigation,” he said.

Perez loved watching professional wrestling, eating fries and taking walks while holding his mother's hand, Vasquez said. He would always notice when Vasquez painted her nails his favorite color blue, or when she wore a new weave, showing his admiration by touching her hair, she said.

“I'm going to miss him when he used to get in his weird moods, and I used to put him to bed,” she said. “He wouldn't want to sleep and would wake up again, and I would have to walk him back to the bed. I would promise him, ‘Hey, I’ll be back tomorrow but you need to lay down and sleep.'”

Vasquez said she didn't know what was next for the family, other than that an autopsy will be performed on Monday. Right now, she said, they need a moment to rest.

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Bellisle reported from Seattle

This story has been corrected to say Pocatello is in southeast Idaho.

Toronto seeking to turn over a new Leaf under Berube after clinching 1st Atlantic Division title

2025-04-16 14:30 Last Updated At：14:40

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — For everything he’s done since his celebrated arrival in 2016, Auston Matthews can’t change the Toronto Maple Leafs’ history of early round playoff collapses.

Perhaps, a better future lies directly ahead for a team playing a more responsible defensive style under new coach Craig Berube, and after Toronto secured several individual and franchise achievements in clinching its first Atlantic Division title with a 4-0 win at Buffalo on Tuesday night.

“I think we’re prepared,” Matthews said after scoring his 400th career goal.

“Obviously, we can’t change what’s happened in the past. I think you wear that,” the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL draft added. “So I feel really confident in this group. I think we put in a lot of work over the season. Obviously, earning the division here is a big step for us. But we just want to continue to push forward.”

With the victory, Toronto (51-26-4) won its team-record 25th road game and, with one game left, is guaranteed to finish with its second-most wins and third-most points. In the meantime, Mitch Marner set a career-high with his 100th point, while goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped 35 shots to extend his career-best winning streak to eight.

In securing the Eastern Conference’s second seed, Toronto will face provincial rival Ottawa in the first round and rekindle the so-called “Battle of Ontario.” The Maple Leafs have won all four playoff series meetings against the Senators, the most recent a seven-game first-round win in 2004.

Toronto, however, is also carrying the weight of its more recent playoff history. The team has advanced past the first round just once — a 4-2 series win over Tampa Bay in 2023 — in its past nine postseason appearances.

What’s different is how the Maple Leafs are playing in riding a 12-2-1 run, including a nine-game stretch in which they’ve won eight times while outscoring opponents by a combined margin of 28-12.

“The whole season’s a learning curve, especially with a new coach coming in, new systems. It’s different from the style of play that this team’s played with in previous seasons,” said forward Steven Lorentz, who signed with Toronto after winning a Stanley Cup with Florida last year .

“It might not be as exciting when you win the game 2-1 rather than 7-6,” Lorentz added. “But you know, that’s championship hockey and that’s what it takes if you want to play into June.”

The Maple Leafs certainly haven’t lost their offensive touch. With 263 goals, Toronto is closing in on finishing its ninth straight season ranked among the NHL’s top 10.

What’s changed is the team’s goals-against numbers. The Maple Leafs enter their final game ranked 10th in the NHL in allowing 226 goals. Only twice over the past nine seasons have they finished with a better ranking.

The players credit their goaltending tandem that includes Joseph Woll, and with Stolarz picking up his fourth shutout of the season, third in four starts, and 12th of his career.

“He was lights out last year,” Lorentz said of Stolarz, who also spent last season in Florida. “He just brings it. He’s a gamer. He doesn’t take anything super seriously. And I think that’s what makes him so good.”

Stolarz placed the emphasis on how the team’s playing soundly in front of him.

“I feel good, but I think at the end of the day, the guys are really committing to a complete two-way game up and down the ice,” the 31-year-old said. “It’s what it’s gonna take to go far in the playoffs. I just think that we have to continue this trend.”

Berube, who won a Cup coaching the St. Louis Blues in 2019, said the key to this season has been the buy-in from players.

“You’re always trying to work on your identity. And that hasn’t stopped throughout the season,” he said.

“I think our guys have done a good job of it,” Berube added. “So yeah, I think we’re in a good spot, but we’ve got to keep making sure we’re pounding away at it and keep working on it and be ready to go.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl