The family of a man shot and killed by LAPD officers Tuesday after wielding a knife at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall have spoken out Wednesday.
Grechario Mack, 30, was shot after he allegedly refused commands to drop the knife. His grieving family remembers him as a loving father who received medication for mental health issues.
"He was schizophrenic, he had anxiety attacks," Catherine Walker, the man’s mother said. "I felt as though they threw my baby aside and said he’s just another John Doe. He’s not a John Doe; he’s my baby!"
The man’s step-father, Quintus Moore, and his mother do not believe he deserved to die.
"They could have used non-lethal force on my child," Walker said. "They got to learn to recognize dealing with mental illness."
She said she last saw her son Monday, a day before the shooting.
"I just want to find closure in this because I don’t understand this as a mother," Walker said. "How is my baby going to go before me?"
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Police responded to a report of a man with a knife the mall at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday. Officials said in a statement that he was "aggressively waving a long knife." The weapon was recovered at the scene.
