An attempted carjacking at a Pompano Beach gas station over the weekend ended with a good Samaritan shooting and killing the suspect, deputies said.
But the alleged carjacker’s mother is disputing their account.
The shooting happened just before 5 p.m. Sunday at the RaceTrac at 599 W. Atlantic Blvd.
Deputies said Brian Semil, 37, tried to carjack a mother and her children; they said three men intervened and one of them opened fire.
Despite his history, Semil’s mother, Selinda Crawley, believes her son was innocent.
“That is not true,” Crawley said. “That’s something y’all made up to cover the act of this guy murdering my son. That is not a true story.”
She said Semil was turning his life around, that he suffers from schizophrenia and that he was unarmed when he lost his life. Deputies have not yet said whether Semil was armed, citing an ongoing investigation.
“This is what they bring up, 2015, he was on drugs,” Crawley said. “Brian had cleaned up his life. Right as we speak, he cleaned his life up. I got certificates from where he was living, being sober from drugs.”
She added, “He could have been trying to talk to the lady, because he told me he was looking for a nice lady that he can make a family with and start off new.”
Deputies have not identified the man who opened fire.
“I want to speak to him and ask him, why did he kill my son? Why?” Crawley said. “Well, you did that. You hurt the whole family,”
She said, “Give my son justice where it’s due because you’re judging him on his past and that is not fair. My son (has) been murdered.”
Crawley said she wants the alleged victim and the shooter to be identified and to come forward.
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Source: local10
