Family seeks answers over shooting death of college grad by Antioch police

Family wants answers in Antioch police shooting death of college grad

David Bahrami, 26, was shot and killed by Antioch police on Osprey Drive, two weeks after he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in electrical engineering.

Family wants answers in Antioch police shooting death of college grad

David Bahrami, 26, was shot and killed by Antioch police on Osprey Drive, two weeks after he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in electrical engineering.

ANTIOCH, Calif. - Halima Bahrami and her family are devastated over the shooting death by Antioch police of her son just two weeks after he graduated from college with a degree in electrical engineering.

"My heart is broken. Not only me, we are," she said. "I don't feel good. I feel so, so sad, because they killed my son without any reason."

Police summoned after reported threat

What we know:

On June 30, someone called police, saying Bahrami had threatened to kill everyone in his home on Osprey Drive. The family tells KTVU none of them called 911.

Surveillance video obtained by KTVU shows Bahrami initially walking down the street. As he rounds the bend, he sees a group of Antioch police standing nearby.

Police say that's when Bahrami began running toward them. One officer apparently fires a less-lethal round. Authorities say Bahrami continued running in their direction while armed with a knife. That's when at least one officer opened fire, killing him.

Recent college graduate

The backstory:

His death comes just two weeks after he graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, following in the footsteps of his grandfather. The family says he wasn't under any stress or suffering from any physical or mental challenges.

"He was very smart, very kind, very lovely, hard worker," his mother said.

Bahrami was the oldest of four children. Diana Bahrami is the next oldest.

"We're going to miss him forever. We feel very incomplete without him, and he was a really good person. He was very intelligent and he had a really big heart," Diana Bahrami said.

The family is seeking answers with the help of civil rights attorney Adante Pointer, who described Bahrami as "a man who had no reason to throw his life away in the way the police have claimed he did."

Pointer said Bahrami was shot numerous times and may have been trying to run past - and not toward - the police.

"So we have a lot of questions as it relates to the way the police formed a perimeter and the tactics they used, and whether or not they overreacted to what they thought was a threat," Pointer said.

Antioch police and the Contra Costa County DA's office are investigating. Prosecutors will determine whether the shooting was legally justified.

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan

The Source: KTVU reporting, family of David Bahrami, Antioch police

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