SWEETWATER, FLA. (WSVN) - The family of the man who was shot and killed in Homestead in a police-involved shooting said he was trying to run away from police and back inside of his own home when he was shot.
Thirty-one-year-old Leandro Ledea Chong was fatally shot by Homestead Police officers inside his home, located along Sunrise Boulevard, Saturday morning.
7News cameras on Monday captured the front of the house riddled with bullet holes and dried blood, showing the aftermath of the shooting.
Chong’s ex-girlfriend spoke to 7News on Sunday about the incident through a translator.
“When I got there, I started screaming that they had killed him,” said Cabrera.
Cabrera said she dated and lived with Ledea Chong for two years. After their separation, she said, she still took care of him, living just two homes away.
Cabrera claims her ex-boyfriend should have never been killed because he was mentally ill.
“I showed Homestead Police his mental health papers when they had arrived,” she said.
On Friday, video posted on social media by Homestead Social shows Ledea Chong being surrounded by Homestead Police officers.
However, they decided to disengage because, investigators said, he was not a threat at the time.
But on Saturday, police said, they were forced to fire their weapons because they believed him to be a threat.
“An incident did occur with the officers where the officers were forced to fire their firearms,” said Homestead Police Capt. Fernando Morales.
His family said police first shot him outside the home and then they shot him again as he ran back inside. They said officers shot and killed him in his bedroom.
Police have not confirmed whether or not Ledea Chong was armed at the time of the incident.
But according to a GoFundMe set up by the family to cover funeral costs, Ledea Chong had a fanny pack filled with keys, a rehab brochure and a screwdriver.
It remains unclear whether or not Ledea Chong was holding the screwdriver in his hand at the time of the shooting, but Cabrera said the police were aware that he was ill.
“It was the same cops that came in the morning and at night,” she said.
Cabrera also said she had called a crisis health center to come help her ex-boyfriend.
“In the end, they had just sent police for this ending,” she said.
Officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said their investigation is active and ongoing, so they cannot do an interview with 7News.
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