Mark Wilsey called police in Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina, to his home after their son picked up a screwdriver during a schizophrenic episode. Officers arrived and began to tase Keith Vidal, who'd recently turned 18 years old and weighed around 90 pounds. Then, without warning,
one officer shot their son as they watched:
Wilsey said officers came into their home after they called for backup help when Vidal was having a schizophrenic incident.
Wilsey said officers had his son down on the ground after the teen was tased a few times and an officer said, "we don't have time for this." That's when Wilsey says the officer shot in between the officers holding the teen down, killing his son.
"There was no reason to shoot this kid," Wilsey said. "They killed my son in cold blood. We called for help and they killed my son."
The family said police shot Vidal because he had a screwdriver in his hand. They said it was a tiny screwdriver, though, that would not have hurt anyone.
The Wilseys say they've tried "multiple times" to get their son medical care for mental illness:
Vidal's mother, also at the scene, said she could not understand what happened.
"Where is the justice, why did they shoot my son?," she asked. "This is what's wrong with our mental health system."
An emotional video of the family addressing the media is available
here.