D.C. Police Trying to Explain Lack of Gun With Slain Teen

The officer, a member of the helicopter unit, saw that his minibike had been stolen from the garage of his home in Southeast Washington. To look for it, he cruised the neighborhood in his personal car with another off-duty officer. He spotted DeOnté on a bike that he thought was his.

Remaining in his car, the officer called out to the youth. Before the officer identified himself as police, the teenager opened fire, hitting the officer's car about a foot below the driver's-side window, police said.

The officer fired back, then left his car and chased the teenager, engaging him in a running gun battle that ended with the youth shot in the head, police said. The second officer, whose name was also not released, did not draw his weapon, police said. Both officers are black, as was DeOnté.

Police think the gun and the minibike were stolen from the scene after the shooting, according to two police sources who declined to be identified because the investigation is continuing. After the shooting, the officer crouched behind his car for safety and waited for backup, one source said. That could be when the gun and minibike were stolen, the source said.

Police said they have evidence to support the officer's assertion that he was fired on: They found the bullet hole in his car door and three .45-caliber shell casings on the ground. Sources said the bullet hole looked new.

Investigators also found eight shell casings from a 9mm Glock -- the type of gun issued to officers by the police department -- leading them to believe that the officer fired eight times.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave with pay pending an inquiry by the police department's force investigation team. As is routine in police shootings, the U.S. attorney's office will conduct an independent review.

Lanier, who joined Fenty at a news conference yesterday morning, said it is not common practice for officers to investigate crimes in which they are the victims.

"It's not standard procedure for an officer to investigate a burglary in his own home," she said. Still, she added, "I can't say he was doing anything wrong, looking to see whether the minibike had been dumped somewhere."

DeOnté's family said they do not think that he stole the bike or fired the gun.

"He didn't have a gun," said his father, Charles Rawlings.

Rawlings said he wants police to test his son's hand for gunshot residue, which he thinks would show that he did not fire a gun. But police said the department stopped doing such tests several years ago because they are considered unreliable.

DeOnté, the youngest of 16 children, was a smart, helpful member of the family, his father said. He was called "Lips" because of a bump on his upper lip from when a car hit him a few years ago, his father said.

The boy would run errands for the family and mow neighbors' lawns. He had a summer job this year cleaning buildings for the D.C. school system, his family said.

Charles Rawlings said his son transferred just this week from Hart Middle School to Ballou Senior High School. He described the teenager as a good kid but noted that he had a tendency to cut up in class and roam the halls during study time. DeOnté also was hanging out with friends on the streets, his father said.

Rawlings said he had talked to school counselors about getting help for his son so he would stay focused on school.

"All these years, I've been reaching out for help, no one wanted to help me," he said. "Now he dies, and I get all this help."

Staff writer Robert E. Pierre and staff researchers Meg Smith and Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.