Mother Of Teen Shot By Police: 'Why Shoot Him Again?'

DENVER (CBS4)- The mother of a teenager who was shot and critically wounded by police believes officers could have handled the situation differently.

"They shot him and he went down and they continued to shoot him. I don't understand why. He was down, why shoot him again?" asked Cody Seastone's mother Janine Pinto.

The officers went to the home at 39th and Wolff on Monday night on reports of a stabbing. When they arrived they found Seastone, 16, in the front yard holding two butcher knives.

Pinto clarified that her son is 16 years old, not 17 as police had previously stated.

Denver Police Chief Robert White said officers repeatedly ordered Seastone to put down the knives. When he wouldn't put them down, officers said they felt threatened and shot him.

Pinto doesn't live at the home. She said when she arrived her son was visibly upset.

"He didn't want me to be here so he screamed in my face and he tried to hit me. And then he grabbed the knives. But he didn't stab anybody," said Pinto.

Pinto said she doesn't understand why the officers felt threatened.

"The cops showed up and they told him to put it down and he said, 'No, make me' and then they shot him. And then he was down and they shot him again," said Pinto.

Seastone was in critical but stable condition on Wednesday.

Neighbors told CBS4 the boy has mental health concerns. Pinto said her son is bipolar.

The officers have been placed on administrative leave which is standard procedure during the investigation.