Dallas officer enters apartment she mistakes for her own, fatally shoots man inside
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A Dallas man was killed late Thursday when a police officer returning home from her shift entered the wrong apartment in her building and eventually opened fire, authorities said.
Details surrounding the death of Botham Shem Jean, a 26-year-old native of St. Lucia, were not immediately available early Friday.
His mother, Allie Jean, said in a phone interview from her St. Lucia home that his family was stunned to learn of his death.
"He did no one any wrong," she said.
Dallas police in a statement said that preliminary information suggests the officer involved called for help, and told responding officers that "she entered the victim's apartment believing that it was her own."
The incident began just before 10 p.m. CT (11 p.m. ET) at the South Side Flats, an upscale apartment complex directly south of Dallas' downtown.
During the encounter, the officer was in full uniform and "fired her weapon striking the victim," police said.
Jean was taken to the hospital and died. The Dallas County Medical Examiner later released his identity.
The officer was not immediately identified, and was being placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
At a news conference early Friday, Dallas police Sgt. Warren Mitchell said they had yet to interview the officer and would not speculate as to whether she mistakenly entered another apartment and believed the man already inside was an intruder.
"We still have a lot to do in this investigation," Mitchell added.
Allie Jean said her son lived in a gated apartment complex and had no reason not to trust anyone who was at his door.
"He's that kind of person," she said.
But she questioned how the situation could have escalated to her son's shooting.
"Somebody has to be crazy not to realize that they walked into the wrong apartment," Allie Jean said. "He's a bachelor. Things are different inside."
"And if you try your key and it doesn't work, that should make you realize you're at the wrong apartment," she added. "Every door for each apartment is also numbered."
Allie Jean said she would speak with her son daily, usually before 10 p.m., but thought he might be out after she didn't hear from him.
She remembered her son, who was nicknamed Bo, as a top student in St. Lucia who loved serving as a song leader in church. She said he graduated from Harding University in Arkansas in 2016, and then remained in the U.S. after getting an internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Dallas, where he worked in the risk assurance department.
"We were very, very close," Allie Jean said. "We would talk about everything, about politics. Botham loved everyone, and everyone loved him."
His sister, Allisa Charles-Findley, had spoken to him before his death as well: "My brother is my best friend," she said. "My heart is broken beyond repair."
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