By Curtis Jackson, Linda Larsen,Noah Farley
UPDATE: 5:22 p.m.
Victor Perez has died after being taken off life support, his family confirms.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The family of Victor Perez, a 17-year-old with autism and cerebral palsy who was shot in a highly controversial officer-involved incident, received heartbreaking news on Friday: Doctors determined that Victor is brain-dead. On Saturday morning, members of the Pocatello community came together to support the Perez family in their time of grief.
Members of a candlelight vigil, initially planned for Saturday night, gathered at 9 AM to support the injured teen and his family. The Perez family has told Local News 8 that after the vigil has concluded, they've made the difficult decision to take Victor off life support.
Victor was shot 9 times by Pocatello police officers when they were called to a domestic situation on Saturday, April 5. He has been connected to machines in a medically induced coma since the shooting.
Late Friday afternoon, The City of Pocatello issued a statement after hearing the news about Victor's condition. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time. We recognize the pain and grief this incident has caused in our community,” said Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad.
Blad released a video on Thursday saying they are taking the incident seriously. You can view the full video here.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Victor and his family.
*This story originally appeared on our sister station, Local News 8.
