Texas police officer charged with murder for killing unarmed 15-year-old Jordan Edwards

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A suburban Dallas police officer was charged with murder on Friday for shooting a rifle into a car of unarmed teenagers driving away from him, killing a 15-year-old boy, a lawyer for the child’s family said, after the incident sparked national outrage.

To See President Biden's 5 Best Jokes At The White House Correspondents Dinner visit The Daily.

Family lawyer S. Lee Merritt did not provide further details on his Twitter feed. A judge signed the murder warrant for former Balch Springs Police officer Roy Oliver, the Dallas Morning News reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Oliver was fired by the force earlier this week for policy violations.

The Balch Springs Police Department was not immediately available for comment. A lawyer representing Oliver did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jordan Edwards, a black high school student described by family and friends as a stand-out student and athlete, was struck by a bullet to the head on Saturday and died. Two of his brothers were in the car with him and watched him die, Merritt has said.

The killing that took place in a primarily black and Hispanic neighborhood stoked simmering tensions of perceived racial bias in U.S. policing.

Oliver, 37, has not been taken into custody, the Dallas Morning News said.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by G Crosse and Andrew Hay)