Unarmed 73-Year-Old Grandfather Fatally Shot By Police

Roy Serna / Via facebook.com

An unarmed 73-year-old man died early Monday after being shot multiple times by police in Bakersfield, California.

Officers received a call around 12:30 a.m. Monday reporting a man with a gun in a residential area of the central California city, KBAK reported. When officers arrived, they confronted a man, later identified as 73-year-old Francisco Serna.

Roy Serna / Via Facebook: roy.djmrgroove

Serna lived in the neighborhood and often took walks at night, his son, Roy Serna, said in a Facebook video. The elderly man was in the early stages of dementia, and taking a walk before bed helped him sleep, his son said.

Serna ignored officers' orders and was shot multiple times, a Bakersfield Police Department spokesman told the Los Angeles Times.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his son said he had been shot nine times.

"My dad was not armed," Roy Serna said.

Police later said no gun was found at the scene.

Roy Serna questioned why officers had not used a Taser or other force that was not lethal. His father was also a grandfather and great-grandfather, he said. The family planned a candlelight vigil for Tuesday night.

"He was taken from us sooner than expected, not from a sickness but from senseless police," Roy Serna said.

"I ain't got nothing against the police, but this needs to stop against innocent people," he added. "Enough is enough already."

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