Teen dead after officer involved shooting; police say he was "no stranger to law enforcement"

TAMPA - A 16-year-old is dead after a police involved shooting Sunday evening. 

Tampa Police say they shot Javon Neal in self defense after he pointed what they call an "assault style weapon" at them, but family and friends are telling a completely different story.

Vonshay said that she was friends with Javon and it all happened because of a misunderstanding.

"Guns went off two separate times," Vonshay said.

She said it all started because she was chasing after him in the parking lot of the Central Court Apartment Complex on Sunday evening after they had an argument and that's why he was running. 

Police say when they arrived at the complex, after being called to reports of gunshots in the area, they spotted Javon, who matched the description of the suspect.  They say they started running after the teen and ordered him to stop, but he wouldn't. 

"When he got to the third level of the apartment complex, he was armed at that point with a pistol gripped assault style shot gun," said Laura McElroy with Tampa Police.  "At that point, they were in fear of their lives and fired at least one shot in self defense." 

Despite what friends and family say about Javon being a good kid, in a press conference, McElroy said he was "not a stranger to law enforcement."

She also mentioned that he has had at least seven run-ins with police, but there have been no arrests.  In two of those incidents, police say they do believe that he was armed.

Javon was pronounced dead at St. Joseph's Hospital Sunday night. 

Javon's father, Michael Lovett, says that his son was expecting a child in the next couple of months and that he would have been a junior in the fall at North Tampa Alternative.

The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.