- US Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, died in hospital on Friday night
- Bodycam footage shows the dramatic moments leading up to the death
- A woman said she witnessed his killed by cops while they were on FaceTime
This is the harrowing moment a 23-year-old airman was shot dead by law enforcement at his home while on FaceTime after a neighbor reported hearing someone being slapped.
Bodycam footage of the moment US Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, shows the moments leading up to the deadly shooting last Friday afternoon.
A neighbor of Fortson describes a disturbance to the law enforcement officer as she leads him through the apartment building. The female resident told the cop that a fight had gotten ‘out of hand’ in one of the apartments – and described hearing a slap.
When asked what room the alleged fight took place in, the woman responded ‘1401’. The law enforcement officer confirmed with the woman that he was going to the fourth floor before riding the elevator up to Fortson’s off-base residence at an apartment complex on 319 Racetrack Road in Okaloosa County, Florida.
Upon arriving at the the door of an apartment, the officer knocked once – and then again, saying ‘Sheriff’s office. Open the door’ twice. As the door opened, the sheriff ordered ‘step back’ and ‘do not move.’
The officer then fired six rapid shots that sent the 23-year-old stumbling to the ground.
Bodycam footage of the moment a 23-year-old airman was killed at his home after police allegedly forced their way into the wrong apartment and shot him has now been released
As the door opened, the sheriff ordered ‘step back’ and ‘do not move.’ The officer then fired six rapid shots that sent the 23-year-old stumbling to the ground
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, was identified as the young man shot dead in a shooting last Friday afternoon
A witness, who was on FaceTime with Fortson during the time of the shooting, claimed Fortson heard a knock at the door and asked who was there.
According to the witness, when he did not receive a response but heard another ‘very aggressive knock,’ Fortson peered through the peephole – but did not see anyone and grew concerned.
Out of concern, Fortson retrieved a gun – which he owned legally, according to the witness.
When he returned to his living room with the gun, authorities allegedly pushed through his door and shot him six times.
The traumatized witness, who remained on the FaceTime call for the duration of the horrifying shooting, recalled that Fortson said ‘I can’t breathe,’ after the shots were fired. Fortson later died at the hospital.
The deputy involved in the incident has since been placed on administrative leave while the shooting continues to be investigated.
The 23-year old was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Florida. He entered active duty on Nov. 19, 2019
He was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, where one of his roles as a member of the squadron’s AC-130J Ghostrider aircrew was to load the gunship’s 30mm and 105mm cannons during missions.
The black airman (pictured) was killed in his Florida apartment after police forced their way into the wrong apartment and shot him as his horrified friend watched on FaceTime
The terrible incident took place at Fortson’s off-base residence – an apartment complex on 319 Racetrack Road in Okaloosa County, Florida
Fortson (pictured on the left) was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator after entering active duty on Nov. 19, 2019
The Air Force’s 1st Special Operations Wing said its priorities are ‘providing casualty affairs service to the family, supporting the squadron during this tragic time, and ensuring resources are available for all who are impacted.’
Fortson’s mother, Meka Fortson, said that it had always been a dream of her son to service his country and that he had wanted to become a pilot.
‘It’s a disbelief. Every day, I try to go to sleep early to wake up like it’s a dream,’ she told Military.com.
‘He just came back from deployment from fighting for us. With everything we got going on in our country, he’s fighting for us and he came back to be murdered, slain like that so violently.’
‘He was my gift, and they took my gift away,’ Roger’s mother said. ‘And they didn’t give it to me. God gave me that gift … and they took my gift away.’
A similar incident happened involving the same sheriff’s office back in November – in which the officer shot an unarmed and handcuffed man after he mistook the sound of a falling acorn for a gunshot, according to The Washington Post.
The Washington Post’s database of fatal police shootings from 2015 to April this year found that police killed the highest number of people on record in 2023.
Black Americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of White Americans.