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Family Speaks Out After Teen Suspect Fatally Shot By Pasadena Police

PASADENA (CBS) — The family of a teen, who was fatally shot by Pasadena Police, spoke out Monday night.

Candles burned in the 700 block of Sunset Avenue in Pasadena, where Kendrec Lavelle McDade, 19, was fatally shot by police Saturday night.

The shooting happened in a parking lot after a robbery in Pasadena.

Family and friends of the suspect told CBS2 News that he did not need to die.

"We wouldn't be, you know, trying to save our youth in urban communities from gangs and street violence. And here it's protect them from your Pasadena Police," said Kacie Cole, the suspect's aunt.

McDade, a football star, had recently graduated from Azusa High School.

Police said they got a call Saturday night after a customer at a taco truck told them that he had been robbed by two men with a gun.

Officers caught up with McDade three blocks away from the robbery. One officer began to chase him on foot, while another followed in a police car.

"As he turned towards the vehicle, and as he did that, the officer in the car actually shot the suspect, believing that he had a gun in his waistband," said Pasadena Police Lt. Phlunte Riddle.

"I do not believe that whatsoever. They did not find a gun and I believe they won't," said Crystal Santos, McDade's ex-girlfriend, who said that he had never been in any trouble with the law.

She said that he had been on the straight and narrow, attending Citrus College with hopes of becoming a lawyer.

Police had checked the video from cameras where the reported robbery occurred. They said McDade and a second man were seen on camera, but a gun was not visible.

Police did not find a gun on McDade following the shooting.

"He was out in an area where he had committed a crime. He, per the victim, we never saw the gun, but the victim was adamant that he was robbed," Riddle said.

"He would always make everyone laugh; he's funny. It's just amazing, he's... really going to be missed," Santos said.

Police also arrested a second suspect in connection with the robbery.

The department and the district attorney's office were investigating the shooting.

» RELATED STORY: Pasadena Police Identify Robbery Suspect Killed In Officer-Involved Shooting

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