Irish shooting victim's sister demands answers from Oregon police

The heartbroken sister of an Irish man shot dead by police in the US demanded today to know why he was killed.

Andrew Hanlon was shot by an officer who responded to reports of a burglary in the small town of Silverton in the north west state of Oregon.

The 20-year-old, from the Dundrum area of Dublin, died at the scene of the shooting on Monday night.

Melanie Heise said that although her brother suffered from mental health problems, friends who saw him shortly before the shooting said he seemed fine.

She complained that despite the support of the Irish Embassy, her family have not been contacted by authorities since they delivered the devastating news on Tuesday morning and only heard about a possible burglary through a statement released to the media.

“The whole city of Silverton is being investigated so it’s very closed mouth,” she said. “Nobody is saying anything. They’ve all been instructed not to talk.”

Mrs Heise, who lives her husband, Nathan, in Silverton, said her brother was not the kind of person to carry a weapon and the shooting had raised a lot of anger in the area.

Concerned residents yesterday protested with the dead man’s friends outside Silverton City Hall over what they claim was an unjustified fatal shooting by police.

“We live in a town of 9,000 people and there hasn’t been a shooting in 20 years,” she continued.

“It’s a quiet environment and people are appalled because they want to know why there was such excessive force used. They are wanting to know why there wasn’t Taser used, which police officers have available to them here, instead of a gun.

“It’s down to police protocol.”

Officer Tony Gonzalez, who was involved in the incident, has been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.

Mrs Heise said she found out this morning through her own research that the District Attorney’s office was due to bring the case to a grand jury.

Mr Hanlon travelled to the US last July on a three-month holiday visa, which he extended to six months. When it expired he remained in America illegally, moved out of his sister’s home, and began suffering psychological problems.

Mrs Heise, who last saw her brother alive on Saturday, took Mr Hanlon to psychiatric crisis centres in the US but wanted to send him home for treatment.

“The Irish Embassy were great except we were trying to find out if there was a facility to try and pick him up from the airport,” she said.

“There wasn’t that facility so I ended up keeping him here and he fell through the cracks in the system. The mental health here is atrocious as well.”

Mrs Heise, whose mother lives in the south of France, said although Mr Hanlon was never diagnosed, he was aware he had psychological problems.

“He went in and out of delusions, paranoia, and stuff like that,” she told RTE radio.

“He definitely thought about going back to Ireland in the very beginning but I think he was just so afraid to go back. Everything had become so familiar and everybody he loved and knew and all his best friends were here.

“It was more of a comfort zone for him here, even though home is home.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was offering consular assistance to Mr Hanlon’s family.