The family of a 17-year-old boy who died in Los Angeles have denied a police chief's claims that he fell from a bridge while trying to film a stunt for social media.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore shared news of the teen's death on Tuesday (23 May), when he claimed he had been climbing on the city's iconic 6th Street Viaduct when he slipped and fell.
The bridge has been known to draw crowds since it first opened in July 2022, with police having responded to the scene repeatedly due to reports of drag racing and crashes.
Authorities were called again to the scene in the early hours of Saturday morning (20 May), where they found the teen, identified by his family as Anthony Luna, and transported him to hospital. The 17-year-old was sadly pronounced dead on arrival.
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Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore claimed the teen fell 'when climbing upon one of the arches, in order to post, apparently, a social media broadcast'.
It's unclear exactly what the teen had allegedly been trying to broadcast, and where he was going to share it, but Moore added: “He slipped and fell to his death.”
“Tragically we see that location, while it has spawned a great deal of pride in Los Angeles, it has also unfortunately served as a backdrop now for tragedies such as this,” Moore continued.
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After Moore shared his statement, Anthony's family responded to the claims to say Anthony had not been taking part in a stunt for social media.
Instead, the family have insisted the fall was simply a tragic accident.
Anthony father, Paul Luna, told ABC7 that he had seen a video of the fall and that the teen was not planning to post footage on any sites.
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"The chief of police, they're stating that Anthony did it for a video stunt of some sort, maybe likes or something, but that's 100 percent false," Luna said. "He didn't even care about social media."
Luna claimed his son, who he described as a 'great kid', didn't even have his phone on him when he fell from the bridge.
The father also stressed that authorities needed to take action to make the bridge safer, saying: "If they're so aware of all these things that are happening, we see that there's an issue here, what's the next step to prevent it?"
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In the hope of preventing other 'reckless actions' at the bridge, Moore said the LAPD will continue to carry out its added patrols.
Anthony's family is now planning their son's funeral, with a GoFundMe page having been set up to help the family fund the event.
UNILAD has contacted the LAPD for comment.
Topics: Technology, US News, Los Angeles, Social Media
Emily Brown