Falcon Heights, MN — 32 year old, Philando Castile, was recently fatally shot by a police officer in Falcon Heights, Minnesota after being pulled over during a traffic stop for an alleged broken tail light. Castile, who reportedly was a cafeteria supervisor at J.J. Hill Montessori School in St. Paul, was killed with his girlfriend in the passenger seat and his 4-year old daughter in the back seat.After he was shot, his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, started recording and streaming live video on Facebook showing Castile still alive but lying in a pool of blood while the officer continues to point his gun at him. In the video, she can be heard saying that Castile had a concealed-carry permit and told the officer he was carrying a weapon. She then explains that the officer shot Castile four times while he was reaching for his wallet.
“Please don’t tell me this, Lord. Please, Jesus, don’t tell me that he’s gone,” she says in the video. “Please, officer, don’t tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir. He was just getting his license and registration, sir.”
After she starts to break down, their 4-year daughter can be heard saying to her mom, “It’s ok. I’m right here with you.”
His mother, Valerie Castile, told CNN: “They took a very good person ― and everybody that knows my son knows that he is a laid-back, quiet individual that works hard every day, pays taxes, and comes home and plays video games. That’s it. I know he didn’t antagonize that officer in any way to make him feel like his life was in danger.”
She said she had conversations in the past with her son about complying with the police. “The main thing I’m trying to tell you is we know black people have been getting killed, women, children, men ― and I always told him, whatever you do, when you get stopped by the police, comply. Comply, comply, comply,” she said.
Other family members say Castile was a “straight-A student” when he attended St. Paul Central High School,
Watch the video below of the incident while they were still in the car:
Watch Diamond’s press conference later on that day: