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Rajan Moonesinghe: Texas man fatally shot by cops after neighbor told 911 he fired rifle into own home

Rajan 'Raj' Moonesinghe, 33, had returned from a trip and suspected his home had been burglarized during the early-morning hours of November 15

AUSTIN, TEXAS: Rajan Moonesinghe, a tech entrepreneur gunned down by police, was defending his home, his family claims. In an interview on Thursday, December 1, Rajan's mother Ruth, and brother Johann commented on the tragic event. “He did nothing wrong,” said Johann Moonesinghe. “He had a gun … he was defending his house and he didn’t point the gun. He was not menacing. He didn’t look like he was going to shoot anyone.” The brother added that there were recent crimes in the area, and he took out a rifle to protect himself, “He called his friend and he said I think something’s been moved around my house. Something strange is going on.”

Rajan "Raj" Moonesinghe, had returned from a trip and believed that "something was wrong" near his house. The incident occurred in the early morning hours of November 15, when he was standing outside his front door with a rifle and was encountered by an Austin police officer. The relatives allege that Raj was not given enough time to drop the gun. “Officer Sanchez was the first to observe Mr Moonesinghe and gave him a verbal command to drop the gun. Immediately after telling Mr Moonesinghe to drop the gun, Officer Sanchez fired his Department approved firearm at Mr Moonesinghe. Mr Moonesinghe was struck and fell to the ground,” police said.

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The authorities revealed that two other officers responded to the call initially, as one of those officers ordered Moonesinghe to show his hands after he was shot. The police said, “The officers immediately began life-saving measures,” police said. Moonesinghe succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital. On Thursday, police revealed the evidence, including a 911 call to police, a Ring camera video from Moonesinghe’s home, and body camera footage from officers, leaving many uncertain about the police action, reports NBC News.

The 911 caller said, “He almost seems to be scared of something inside of his home. … It looks like he’s pointing the rifle at the interior of his home.” The caller reports that the man fired, and soon adds the police have arrived and, “He fired again,” during a six-minute call. "I just wanted to hold him … and say, ‘I love him. Thank you for being this amazing gift that I had,''' said Raj’s mother. "I’m just sad. I wasn’t there because … that shouldn’t have happened to him."