The family of a U.S. Airman shot dead outside the gate of his base want answers.
Brion Teel-Scott was shot and killed Feb. 22 outside of Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. A press release from the base states that another airman was injured with a gunshot wound to the hand.
Teel-Scott attempted to enter the base at 2 a.m. Security personnel at the gate searched his car and found drugs, According to KOAT-7. The station reported that he then attempted to flee and that he was holding a gun at the time.
"As law enforcement officers, the first thing is de-escalation. Where's the de-escalation at? Where does their jurisdiction end?" his father, Shawn Scott said in an interview with KOAT-7.
"There's no way he would have shot first. I don't want to get into innuendo and things that I don't know for a fact, but in my heart and how I feel in my mind about my son, who I was there from the time that he was born, none of us see that happening," said Scott, a retired Marine.
Teel-Scott was a member of the 377th Security Forces Squadron.
"Losing a member of your team is never easy, but the circumstances of this incident make it that much harder," Col. Michael Power, 377th Air Base Wing and installation commander, said in a statement. "Additionally, we are ensuring our injured defender, the wingmen of both members, and our base community receive the best possible care and support."
The incident remains under investigation. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is leading the investigation.
The airmen involved in the shooting have been assigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of the investigation, KOAT-7 reported.
