An unarmed high school football star was shot dead in Virginia on Saturday after he jumped into an off-duty cop's car without permission.

According to the New York Daily News, Paterson Brown Jr., 18, was shot and killed by a plainclothes police officer after getting behind the wheel of the cop's car in the parking lot of a Richmond car wash. Brown had recently graduated from James River High School.

According to local reports, the unidentified police officer asked Brown to leave the vehicle, but the teen remained seated in it. That was apparently enough for the cop to fire one shot at Brown.

“During the confrontation, the suspect was shot and he was transported to Chippenham Hospital where he later died,” a Chesterfield Police spokesperson told WTVR, a local CBS affiliate on Monday.

Witnesses say they saw the cop crying in the parking lot after the shooting.

“He didn’t want to do it,” a witness told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “He tried and tried to get him out.”
According to the Washington Post, Brown is the 29th unarmed African-American to be shot dead by police this year.

BET Sports News — Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports, including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes.

(Photo: Paterson Brown Family)