Antwon Rose II: 17 years old 

Favorite song: “Elm Street” by Jimmy Wopo 

Favorite color: purple

Antwon Rose II was an honor roll student who took Advanced Placement (AP) classes and was a community volunteer. On June 19, 2018, Antwon was shot and killed by an East Pittsburgh police officer while fleeing from the site of a near-fatal drive-by shooting in which the car Antwon was in was involved.  

The officer who killed Antwon had just been sworn into the East Pittsburgh Police Department only a few hours before his shooting. The officer had trained with their department for three weeks prior and had been fired from his last department at the University of Pennsylvania. 

The officers were not wearing body cameras, nor were the squad cars equipped with cameras. A video recording taken by a bystander shows police ordering the driver to step out from the car. While the driver was being handcuffed, Antwon and the third occupant, Zaijuan Hester, ran from the car. Footage confirms that the officer did not initiate a foot pursuit. Instead, he fired three shots at Antwon’s back as he fled.  

In the video, a woman's voice is heard asking, "Why are they shooting at them? All they did was run, and they are shooting at them?" Police confirmed Antwon was unarmed when he was shot.  

The police officer was tried and found not guilty of criminal homicide. Antwon Rose’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officer and the city. In 2019, the family reached a $2 million wrongful death settlement with East Pittsburgh.  

Antwon’s favorite rapper, Jimmy Wopo, (also from Pittsburgh) was killed in a drive by shooting the day prior. 

Antwon’s mother, Michelle Kenney, works to honor his legacy with 1Hood.org, which builds liberated communities through art, education, and social justice.