A Baltimore mother is defending her 17-year-old son who police say ran from them carrying a gun. The teen now faces several charges after a police officer shot him earlier this month.
Kieria Franklin admits her son, Mekhi Franklin, had a weapon. Police say it was a stolen 9-millimeter handgun.
"(My son) never turned around. He never lifted the gun up or raised it at the officer," said Franklin.
The mother is speaking out one day after prosecutors charged the teen with several charges including, first-degree assault and firearm offenses.
The 17-year-old is charged as an adult in a shooting that was caught on a police body-worn camera.
The incident happened in the Shipley neighborhood in southwest Baltimore on May 11th. Five days later, investigators with Baltimore City Police Department released the video.
The officer and the teen are seen in a foot chase after, police say, the officer thought Mekhi Franklin, might be armed.
"My son wasn't supposed to be gunned down the way he was," said Franklin.
When asked about the fact that her son had a gun: "He had a gun because he was scared for his life, we live in Baltimore city," said Franklin.
The debate over the shooting, still ongoing amid the recent gun violence involving youth. Which for some, is raising questions over parent accountability, including Franklin's for her son.
"How am I accountable for what he has on him? That's not bad parenting, that's not the parent's fault. How can you blame that on the parent? My son is 17 years old. He's not a 5-year-old little kid. So at the end of the day, it's only so much I can do," said Franklin.
Meanwhile, her son is out of the hospital. He's been moved to the Central Booking and Intake Center where he's waiting for a hearing that will decide whether or not his case will be moved to juvenile court.