Neighbors & Witnesses React to Police Involved Shooting of Teenager

ROCKFORD - An outpour of emotions are coming out in the wake of Thursday's police involved shooting that killed 18 year-old Logan Bell on Rockford's southwest side.  Opinions differ from two people who say they saw what happened Thursday afternoon.

Friday, investigators were still mulling over the details of Thursday's shooting, right across the street from the home of Levina Hunter.  She says she was in her bedroom when the shooting took place.  What she thought was originally firecrackers were actually bullets, one that hit her house.  She says she saw the final moments of Bell's life.

"That's my first time I've ever seen someone killed in my life and actually the officers doing it," said Hunter.

Hunter says she saw Bell on the ground after police shot him.  She claims she saw police continue to shoot him after he was down.

"Did they have to keep shooting like that," questioned Hunter.  "They didn't know that he was probably already dead?"

John Galloway Jr. says he saw it from the beginning.  He says he saw Bell approach police and fire his weapon - information that hasn't been confirmed or denied by police.  Galloway says he completely understands why police did what they did.

"I'm not a fan of the Rockford Police department," said Galloway.  "But if somebody was coming at me with a weapon that looked real, and let's say if I was a police officer and I had no other choice and it looked like it was real to me and the way the sun was gleaming over there and the gun looked real, I would have shot back too."

Bell was shot just down the street from Pilgrim Baptist Church, the church Bell and his family attended.  Dr. Reverend Kenneth Board, pastor at Pilgrim Baptist, is calling for a quelling of opinions.  He says he has some personal concerns about what took place on Thursday, but he mentions the truth will eventually come out.

"As a pastor, my heart is broken, but as a community leader I'm seeking understanding," said Rev. Board.

"The meaning of theology is faith seeking understanding.  My faith in Jesus Christ is about understanding; it's about love and reconciliation.  We can't have reconciliation without the truth."

Bell's family declined to comment on yesterday's tragic events.