An Aspiring Rapper Who Was Asleep Inside His Car Was Shot And Killed By California Police

The 20-year-old, who went by the name Willie Bo, was found slumped over in the driver's seat with a handgun on his lap in a Taco Bell drive-thru.

Six police officers opened fire on an aspiring rapper in Northern California on Saturday, killing the man after he was found asleep inside his car in a Taco Bell drive-thru, authorities said.

Police were called to the fast-food restaurant in Vallejo around 10:30 p.m. Saturday after employees reported seeing a man "slumped over" inside a silver Mercedes-Benz. When officers arrived, they found Willie James McCoy unresponsive in the driver's seat with a handgun on his lap, police said.

The car was locked and the transmission was shifted into the drive position, police said.

"The two officers decided to hold their position and did not attempt to wake the driver," Vallejo police said in a statement. "Instead they decided to wait for additional officers to arrive on scene and ensure that people in the parking lot were safe and did not approach the vehicle."

After additional officers arrived, police tried to open the driver's side door, but were unsuccessful. Officers then positioned a patrol car in front of the Mercedes to prevent it from suddenly moving forward, and tried to move another patrol vehicle behind McCoy's.

It was at that time, police said, that the driver began to wake up and move.

"The driver began to suddenly move and looked at the uniformed patrol officers," police said in a statement. "Officers gave the driver several commands to put his hands up. The driver did not comply and instead moved his hands downward toward the firearm."

Six police officers opened fire at McCoy for about four seconds.

After the shooting, one of the officers reached through the broken glass and grabbed the handgun.

Police tried to perform CPR, but McCoy was declared dead at the scene.

Vallejo police officials did not confirm the identity of the shooting victim, or how many times officers fired into the car, but David Harrison told the Los Angeles Times that McCoy, an aspiring rapper who went by the name Willie Bo, was his cousin.

"You can't just keep killing us in the streets like this," Harrison said in a video posted on Facebook. "My little cousin was asleep in the car. They shot him 20 motherfucking times in a motherfucking car — asleep."

Vallejo police said the firearm, which was recovered after the shooting, was a .40-caliber handgun that was loaded with an extended magazine. It had been reported stolen from Oregon.

The Solano County district attorney's office is investigating the shooting, officials said.

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