Just witnessed a shooting at West Oakland Bart station. 2 police men. 1 black man. pic.twitter.com/GijZ40ARq3
— Akshay Dodeja (@dodeja) September 2, 2015
BART police announced Wednesday that they plan on pursuing attempted murder charges against a man they say shot himself during an altercation on the West Oakland platform Tuesday.
As previously reported, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, BART police approached a man who was smoking on the platform, and asked him to put out his cigarette, as smoking is prohibited in BART stations.
That man, since identified as 28-year-old Union City resident Corey Powell, "provided officers with false names, and then threatened to jump in front of an oncoming train," BART said in a statement.
“Officers felt that he was being aggressive. He started moving away from officers, they grabbed him. At that time, a fight ensued. The suspect fought back the officers aggressively, had two officers on him. He started reaching for his waistband at this time,” BART deputy chief of operations Jeffery Jennings said at a press conference Tuesday night.
The man "shot himself in the abdomen as he attempted to retrieve his weapon," BART said Tuesday, and then was tased by officers, Jennings said at a second press conference held Wednesday.
"I heard him yelling, ‘they shot me,’ and then he just went cold, and then the police officers just sort of stood there for a minute, and then there was blood everywhere, and then one of the cops just started yelling, ‘He shot himself,’ and he just said that two or three times," a witness said Tuesday night.
Jennings said Wednesday that "The officers did not try to draw their weapons at any point in time. They tried to handle him physically."
"What I reported yesterday, it was a Taser and then a shooting. From the video I'm seeing, It's a shooting, then a Taser," Jennings said.
Reporting from the press conference, Bay City News says that "A single gunshot can then be heard in the video just a moment before the stun gun fires, according to Jennings, who noted that the officers had not seen the weapon prior to the gunshot."
Jennings "was 'confident' the suspect shot himself and that police did not fire the weapon. Whether the gun was fired accidentally or deliberately remains unclear," BCN reports.
Both BART police officers were wearing body cameras that recorded the footage, BART said Tuesday.
You can watch the video from the press conference here:
Jennings also said that Powell was on parole for a burglary charge and a 2011 armed robbery, and had previously been convicted for selling and possessing narcotics with a gun in his possession. There was currently a no-bail warrant out for Powell's arrest, Jennings said.
Powell remains in critical but stable condition at Highland Hospital. He's been placed under arrest, and Jennings says that BART plans to take the case to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to seek charges including attempted murder.
Previously: Man Claims BART Police Shot Him At West Oakland Station Tuesday Night, But Cops Say He Shot Himself