A 24-year-old man stood hiding behind a door, terrified he would be harmed inside his own home in Tucson, Arizona.
He wound up being struck in the chest and paralyzed by the very people meant to protect him: armed police officers.
The victim’s mother recalled finding her son after officers allegedly fired at him erroneously. “He said, ‘I love you, Mom,’” the mother recalled about the moment she watched her son bleed on the floor.
A 24-year-old man stood hiding behind a door, terrified he would be harmed inside his own home in Tucson, Arizona
Image credits: PoliceIncident/X
Trigger warning: this article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some
The harrowing ordeal began when the 24-year-old named Axeel Melendez was playing the popular survival game Rust in April.
Another player on the server allegedly asked to inspect Axeel’s computer to verify that he was not cheating.
The young gamer agreed, but he soon began receiving alerts about someone attempting to access several of his accounts.
Image credits: Nomad_Soul/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
The perpetrator allegedly gained access to his email and private information before demanding money, according to the filing.
But unfortunately, the threats did not end there.
They allegedly warned that they would falsely report a bomb in Axeel’s possession. They also threatened to contact immigration authorities about his family, even though they are U.S. citizens.
Axeel contacted 911 on April 8 to warn authorities that he could be targeted in a swatting attack
Image credits: Viacheslav Yakobchuk/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
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Following the slew of threats, Axeel contacted 911 on April 8 to warn authorities that he could be targeted in a swatting attack, which is a malicious prank or criminal act where someone makes a false emergency report to the police so that armed officers would be sent to another person’s address or location.
“So they’re threatening to call the police station and have police come down to, they’re saying that they’re going to call the station and say that I have a bomb and stuff and come to my address and stuff like that,” Axeel reportedly said during the 911 call.
Image credits: PoliceIncident/X
The victim’s concerns were dismissed by the 911 dispatcher, who said, “They can’t just call SWAT on you. That’s not how that works.”
“OK. Thank you… I’m sorry, I’m not very educated on the matter,” the youngster said.
“No, it’s OK. But they can’t — nothing’s going to happen,” the dispatcher replied.
The 911 dispatcher was heard telling Axeel, “That’s not how that works”
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It took just two days for another 911 call to be made by someone claiming to be Axeel Melendez.
The caller, however, wasn’t the real Axeel but was allegedly from the hackers group.
The April 10 call was reportedly made to the city’s non-emergency 311 line, and the caller claimed that his father fired at his sister with a firearm and was hiding in another room.
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Axeel’s legal team said there were several warning signs of the call being a hoax, such as the impersonator using an out-of-state number and calling the 311 line.
They also mispronounced Axeel’s name and wrongly identified his father as Eduardo Melendez, while his father’s name is actually Jose Avila.
During the incident, one deputy also reportedly gave a warning to fellow officers over the radio, saying they could be responding to a swatting incident.
The Axeel impersonator claimed his father struck his sister and was hiding in another room
Image credits: Alessandro Biascioli/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
Body camera footage captured a deputy breaking a back window to enter Axeel’s room.
Axeel was heard screaming for help while his mother, also in the house, called 911.
They were not aware of who was breaking into their home.
“So on the morning of April 10, Axeel is justifiably relying on the promises that the police gave to him,” Sethi said.
The attorney noted that Axeel got hold of his family’s legally registered handgun. “And he cowers behind a door, hiding, trying to protect his mom,” the lawyer added.
Image credits: Arizona’s Family (3TV / CBS 5)
The cops fired eight rounds at Axeel, and at least two of them struck him in different parts of his body, shattering his left shoulder, ribs, right femur, and hip.
His spinal cord was also severely injured, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down and bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
“I walked towards my son. He was on the floor,” his mother Carmen Melendez said in an April interview.
“I walked towards him. He said, ‘I love you, Mom,’” said the mother, who watched her son bleeding on the floor.
Axeel’s mother recalled watching her son bleeding on the floor
Image credits: Syda Productions/Adobe Stock (Not the actual photo)
Axeel is now seeking at least $176 million from Pima County and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department deputies for the devastating incident that changed the course of his life forever.
He recently filed a notice of claim, and the county must respond within 60 days. If they do not, the claim is deemed denied, after which Axeel can proceed with a lawsuit.
“In the end, Axeel was the victim of nearly deadly incompetence performed by the very law enforcement agency that promised to protect him,” Sethi wrote in the recently filed notice.
“It’s an inexcusable tragedy that has left Axeel physically and emotionally wounded, and his mother terrified to be at home in a community she had before considered safe,” the notice continued.
“One more video, proving just how stupid and incompetent people in policing are!” one commented online
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