I-95 shooting: Attorney demands answers in deadly officer-involved shooting of Anthony Allegrini
An attorney representing the family of a young man who police said was fatally shot by authorities after striking two state troopers on I-95 pressed for a full investigation and praised the fallen teen’s character.
PHILADELPHIA – An attorney representing the family of a young man who police said was fatally shot by authorities after striking two state troopers with his vehicle on I-95 pressed for a full investigation and praised the fallen teen’s character.
Attorney Enrique Latoison, backed by the family of 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini, described the teen as a rule follower and a hard worker who was managing multiple jobs.
“He is someone who’s never been in trouble before, he’s someone who graduated from high school last year, he was currently working at a job,” Latoison said. “He had worked hard to save his money and purchase that car which was his pride and joy.”
Investigation launched into officer-involved shooting on I-95: ‘The truth matters’
Investigators are gathering information on an officer-involved shooting that unfolded on I-95 that claimed the life of 18-year-old Anthony Allegrini Jr. The police said Allegrini and three others piled into a car parked on the shoulder of the highway and struck two approaching state police troopers. That caused an officer to fire one shot, fatally striking Allegrini in the driver’s seat.
Police were dispatched to a stretch of I-95 near Penn’s Landing around 3:30 am Sunday for reports of a large crowd of people in the middle of the road watching cars perform donuts and burnouts.
Investigators say Allegrini was in the driver’s seat of an Audi S4 that was parked on the shoulder of I-95. The license plate of the vehicle was “completely obscured,” according to police.
Two Pennsylvania State Troopers approached Allegrini’s car on foot and were struck by the vehicle, investigators say. One of the troopers fired a shot through the front windshield that the police said fatally stuck Allegrini.
Two troopers sustained minor injuries as a result of the incident.
The Allegrini family has since questioned the investigator’s story partly due to a video that circulated on social media purporting to show Allegrini alive on the ground next to a state police SUV after the shooting, not inside or near his own vehicle.
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State police claim Allegrini failed to comply with orders to yield before the trooper opened fire. Captain Gerard McShea said deadly force would have been “appropriate” if the trooper believed himself or someone at the nearby was at risk of “death or bodily injury.”
“If you’re in fear of death or bodily injury, or you believe someone else on scene could be in fear or at risk of death or bodily injury, deadly force would be appropriate,” Captain McShea said.
Latoison said the Allegrini family will remain in pursuit of the truth about what happened Sunday night.
“There needs to be a full investigation, and it needs to be made clear that this law firm and family will not rest until that’s done,” Latoison said. “The DA has said they’re looking for the truth, you gotta believe this family will be looking for the truth.”