© Courtesy of Family
Authorities, family members say, have refused to fully describe what happened during the early morning confrontation that left 31-year-old Corey Jones dead.
But a police statement released Monday afternoon said the officer, Nouman Raja, was "suddenly confronted by an armed subject" when he "stopped to investigate what he believed to be an abandoned vehicle" along an Interstate 95 exit ramp around 3:15 a.m. Sunday.
Raja was on duty and in plain clothes in an unmarked vehicle, according to cops. No details were released about the weapon Jones was allegedly armed with. For all we know it could've been a tire iron, a cell phone, his wallet, a pair of drumsticks, or his blackness.
The drummer was leaving a late night gig when his car broke down on I-95 near an exit ramp for PGA Blvd., authorities said. He called his brother to let him know about the trouble and to see if he could help him get a tow truck. Another friend actually helped get oil for the car with Corey, but it didn't make a difference.
He was scheduled to be the lead drummer at his church just a few hours later. Church officials told the Daily News that Corey had never stood them up before and that they knew something was seriously wrong almost right away when he didn't show up for church on Sunday morning and couldn't be reached by phone.
We now know Jones was already dead, shot and killed by a Palm Beach Gardens Police Officer on I-95 minutes after he spoke to his brother around 3:15 a.m.
"When Corey wasn't playing the drums for me, he was right down the street at his family's church every single Sunday," Benjamin Dixon, a friend of Corey's told The News. "He was a church musician... a church man. He was the most laid back, easy going guy I've ever worked with."
Fifteen hours after Corey was shot and killed, police came to his brother's home with the news — but answers were elusive. Half a dozen family, friends, and co-workers each told the Daily News that they did not know Corey to carry a firearm or even touch guns recreationally.
Now 24 hours later, the family still has no answers and are struggling to figure out how in the world this could've happened and detectives are already stating that it could take them several months to complete their investigation.
Delray Beach Housing Authority CEO Dorothy Ellington told local reporters that Corey had only taken one vacation in eight years and was one of the best, most respectful, compliant employees she had ever had. She has critical doubts that he challenged a police officer with a weapon.
Police said the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office will investigate the shooting and Raja is on paid leave. A call to Palm Beach Gardens police for further details on the shooting was not immediately returned.
I would like to know if there is anything you can do in the U.S. that does not result in being shot by the police? Anyone?