SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida mother is mourning the death of her adult son, days after he was killed in front of her by Sunrise Police officers responding to a domestic dispute call.
Speaking with 7News outside of her home in Sunrise, Lynn Nilsen said she is still grappling with the magnitude of this sudden loss.
“He’s gone, and nothing can bring him back,” she said.
Despite the tragic outcome of Friday night’s shooting, the grieving mother said she harbors no resentment toward the two Sunrise Police officers who responded to her home on Northwest 24th Court, near 98th Avenue.
“I’m not angry at the police,” she said. “I know that they had to do what they had to do.”
Nilsen said her son, 33-year-old Karl Nilsen, suffered from mental health issues. On Friday night, he became enraged and dangerous.
“He destroyed property inside the house, and they called the police,” she said. “The police came in, broke his bedroom door down, and I heard them say, ‘Drop your weapon.'”
That weapon, Nilsen said, was a baseball bat.
“He wouldn’t drop the bat, and they shot him several times, and he died on the scene,” she said.
Cellphone video captured the moments following the fatal shots, as additional police officers and rescue crews responded to the scene.
The officers who pulled the trigger have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
Nilsen said she hopes her son’s death serves as a lesson for others with loved ones who also suffer from mental health disorders.
“If this could help anyone, with their children or spouses or relatives that have bipolar disorder or mental health issues, I hope this can reach other people, that this will help,” she said as she held back tears.
Nilsen said she’s comforted that her son, who had been Baker Acted multiple times, is now at peace.
Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the shooting.
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