A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent was justified in shooting and killing an 18-year-old who fired at law enforcement in Aliquippa last month, the Beaver County district attorney announced on Wednesday. 

Based on witness interviews, surveillance footage and evidence processed at the scene, Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said an ATF agent won't be charged after fatally shooting Kendric Curtis Jr. in the Linmar Terrace neighborhood on the evening of Sept. 18.

"The totality of the evidence makes it clear that Curtis fired at the officers prior to the ATF agent returning fire, thus the actions of the ATF agent are legally justified due to an immediate risk of death or serious bodily injury to members of law enforcement," Bible said. 

Timeline of Aliquippa shooting

The ATF special agent, who was working with two other law enforcement officials as part of the FBI's Safe Streets initiative, learned from a confidential informant that someone was at the top of a set of stairs in Linmar Terrace with a gun. 

As law enforcement officers pulled up in an unmarked black SUV, Bible said surveillance video showed Curtis, who matched the description given by the confidential informant, going down a set of stairs towards Waugaman Street and pausing "to either place or retrieve something."

The ATF agent, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the SUV, opened the door to get out, identified himself as law enforcement and told Curtis to show his hands, according to Bible.

Curtis then aimed a handgun toward the agent and SUV and fired two rounds, hitting the passenger side door, Bible said. The ATF agent then fired once, hitting Curtis in the head, the DA said. Curtis was flown to the hospital, but died.  

Bible said state police recovered a Glock model 43 9mm handgun with an extended magazine at the scene. The gun had previously been reported stolen, the DA said, and Curtis wasn't legally allowed to have a gun. 

The surveillance video shown on Wednesday did not have audio. 

Family disagrees with DA's ruling

Curtis' family sat through the news conference but left visibly angry. They declined to speak on camera but made it clear they don't believe the video proves he fired first. 

The shooting prompted outrage from community members, who demanded answers. At a vigil, Curtis was remembered as a "good person" who "everyone loved." 

Parts of the investigation are ongoing, but Bible said he has enough information to make his decision, and he wanted to correct the "extremely negative" and inaccurate narrative on social media, adding that police officers and their children have been threatened since the shooting. 

"I knew that doing this today was not going to satisfy everybody. There's people that it won't matter what we show, they're just not going to want to believe it," Bible said. 

Aliquippa mayor "still processing" shooting

The mayor of Aliquippa on Wednesday struggled to find the right words after not just the death of Curtis but also other violence.

"We need to be honest about ourselves in who we are, honest about our city, we need to be honest about all facets of it because there's a lot going on," Mayor Dwan Walker said during a council meeting hours after Bible's announcement.

"I'm praying for so many things that this city needs right now because we are hurting right now," he added.

The city's solicitor, Myron Sainovich, said they have "a lot of questions" and "requested transparency from the district attorney's office."

He said they don't want to do anything that jeopardizes the investigation.

"We can't really say anything about it until we gather all the information. It's not been gathered yet," Sainovich said.