Zim students shot dead by US cop

A Zimbabwean student has been shot and killed by a cop in the United States. Eighteen year old Tendai Nelson Nhekairo was blasted when cops responded to reports of a man shooting a gun at an apartment complex off Shadowood Parkway just outside Atlanta around 7.40PM.

Officers turned up to be confronted by a naked man armed with two knives, a spokesman said.
 
But it was still unclear late Wednesday what prompted the attack and why the teen was nude.

Sgt. Dana Pierce of the Cobb County Police Department told local television: "He made an aggressive movement towards those officers and unfortunately those officers had to use what means was necessary to stop that aggressive act."

"He was shot just outside the foyer of the apartment. I can tell you he was not inside the apartment at the time," Sgt. Dana Pierce said.

Nhekairo was a student at nearby Campbell High School, reported Channel 2 Action News.

The teenager's mother, Blessed, and father, Mabasa Nhekairo, said they had never seen their son behave violently and knew of no mental health problems he may have had. They admitted they were having a hard time believing what police are saying.

"I don't know what happened on Tuesday night, but what I do know is that my son did not have any violent tendencies," the senior Nhekairo said.

He said Tendai was a keen American football player and looked forward to graduating from High School. Channel 2 Action News, meanwhile, reported the teenager had been arrested recently for possession of marijuana off campus.

Residents were stranded outside of their homes for several hours while homicide and internal affairs investigators combed the scene.

The officer involved in the shooting, whose name has not been released, has been placed on routine administrative leave, Sgt. Pierce said.