"My brother should have never been shot," his sister Lauren Allen said. "Never. It was for nothing - for a pizza he didn't take."
Ellison's son was robbed and punched in the face outside Bruno's Pizza at 19th and Cheltenham Avenue around 9 p.m., according to police, who said the boy had told his dad what happened.
Ellison confronted a 16-year-old known as "Meaty," and Meaty ran, according to Allen's family. Carrying a pizza, Meaty, a friend of Lawrence Allen's, sprinted up Renovo Street near 20th - less than two blocks from Bruno's - to the Allen family home about 9:05. Meaty told them that he had robbed a kid and that the dad was after him, the family said.
Ellison spotted some young people on Renovo Street and believed that they had been involved in the strong-arm robbery, said Lt. Frank Vanore, police spokesman.
Ellison attempted to stop one of the men, later identified as Allen, "and a struggle ensued," Vanore said. "He [Ellison] indicated that he believed [Allen] was drawing a firearm." Ellison, who joined the Police Department in August 2000, then drew his weapon and fired once, Vanore said. No gun was recovered. Friends and relatives took Allen to the hospital.
Witnesses, including two neighbors unrelated to the Allen family, said Ellison, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, slowly drove away. Neighbors and relatives said they called 9-1-1. Ellison returned to the block after police arrived and spoke with officers, family and witnesses said.
Allen's relatives, three of whom were witnesses, say that Allen didn't commit the robbery and that there was no physical struggle whatsoever. They insist he had no weapon and did not appear to have reached for anything.
