Teen Shot Dead by Cops Outside Queens Park

Last night police found a group of young men leaving Bayswater Park in Rockaway around 11:30 p.m., and desired a word with them. The cops report that one of the men, Dashawn Vasconcellos, 18, ran from them and, during the officers' pursuit, pointing a pistol at them, which he refused to drop. This necessitated a volley of gunfire which killed Vasconcellos. He received 11 wounds from 14 shots. The mother of one of his comrades admitted Vasconcellos, who had a police record of trespassing and robbery, kept a gun in his bookbag, but only for self-defense. The deceased's friends dispute the police account on grounds of improbability. "Why would you do something crazy, almost suicidal?" said a neighbor.