Amid lawsuit, police share new details after officers kill teen in Abington Twp.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story had the wrong name of the teen who was killed, per a statement from the Abington Township Police Department. This has been corrected.

The family of 19-year-old Wyleek Tinsley has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after he was shot and killed by police officers during a confrontation in an apartment complex in Abington Township on March 6, 2025.

And, on Wednesday, Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy has provided more information on the incident that led to the teenagers death.

As initially detailed by police, Tinsley was killed in an incident that happened at 11:15 a.m. on March 6, 2025, in an apartment complex located along the 2300 block of Rosemore Avenue in the Glenside section of the township.

In that incident, officials initially said, officers responded after an 11-year-old girl called 9-1-1 to tell police that she escaped an apartment where her mother's boyfriend -- now identified as Tinsley -- was holding her mother at gunpoint.

At the time the incident occurred, officials said, as the officers spoke to the child outside they heard screaming and another gunshot from the apartment.

The officers, officials said at the time, then burst into the apartment and Tinsley was shot during an ensuing altercation.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.

Wrongful death lawsuit

On Monday, attorneys for the family of Tinsley released a statement saying the family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the 19-year-old was unarmed when he was shot and killed by officers from the Abington Township Police Department.

"Mr. Tinsley's girlfriend allegedly told Mr. Tinsley's family that police forced their way into her apartment and immediately began shooting, striking the unarmed Mr. Tinsley," claims a statement from the family's attorneys, Joseph Marrone, Keir Bradford-Grey and Michael Pomerantz of the Marrone Law Firm.

In the statement, the attorneys claim the family visited the Montgomery County District Attorney's office where they were shown bodycam footage from the incident.

"What we saw transpire in the video is much different than how the Abington Township Police Dept. described the incident to media, said Marrone in a statement. "The police department is not being transparent and instead attempted to establish a narrative that just doesn't fit what we see for ourselves in the video. We intend to share this bodycam video with the public so they can see for themselves what actually happened to Mr. Tinsley."

In the lawsuit, Tinsley's family claim that the officers fired on the teen "less than three seconds" after entering the apartment.

Also, the lawsuit claims that the firearm wasn't in Tinsley's hand when he was shot.

Instead, according to the lawsuit, the handgun was "found neatly placed" against a pillow in the room.

Police chief responds to family claims

On Wednesday morning, Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy shared new details from the incident in response to the lawsuit, noting that the incident was a "tragedy for all involved, including an 11-year-old girl who was subjected to a violent domestic dispute directed toward her mother, in which a gun was fired at her."

In his comments, Molloy repeated the original details the claim that on the day the incident occurred, police encountered a girl outside the complex after she told officers she escaped an apartment where her mother was being held at gunpoint.

He also said that, when officers eventually entered the apartment, they found the child's mother "cowering in fear on the floor of her bedroom, with two bullet holes in the wall near her head."

Molloy said "all pertinent information" as been made available to the family's legal team, including showing the bodycam footage and said they also shared 9-1-1 calls from that day.

The calls, Molloy said, detailed the fear the child felt on the day the shooting happened.

"In a whispered and frightened voice, she stated, 'My mom is dating a man, and he just shot a gun at her. I don’t know if she’s hurt or not,'" said Molloy in a statement. "Her voice clearly demonstrated the fear for her mother’s life and her own. It was unmistakable."

He said that, after meeting the girl outside the complex, officers initially attempted to contact her mother via cell phone, but the calls went unanswered.

Officers outside, he said in a statement, could see the blinds in the windows of the apartment "being closed" and they grew concerned for the child's mother's safety.

He said that, before entering the apartment, police were prepared to use less than lethal force. And, when they heard yelling and another gunshot, they breached the apartment door.

"Inside, they gave verbal commands and were met by Mr. Tinsley emerging from a bedroom into a poorly lit hallway. He was holding an object in his hand that officers reasonably believed to be a firearm, and turned his body in what they perceived to be a shooting stance," Molloy said, detailing the moments before the shooting.

After Tinsley had been shot, Molloy said they encountered the child's mother on the floor of the bedroom and asked where Tinsley's firearm was.

"[S]he replied, 'I don’t know, he had it," Molloy said in a statement. "Officers observed two bullet holes in the wall near where she had been, and a third above the bed. A handgun was recovered from the bed, just a short distance from where Mr. Tinsley had fallen."

Officers at the scene rendered first aid, though Molloy noted, Tinsley died of his wounds.

"There is no joy in taking a life. This event has had a profound and devastating impact on the Tinsley family, who lost their son, Molloy noted in his response. "At the same time, the officers involved did what they were trained to do: they identified a deadly threat and responded swiftly, decisively, and in accordance with their training, policies, and the procedures of the Abington Township Police Department."

An investigation into this incident is still ongoing, officials said.