A teen that perished in a house fire following a SWAT standoff Thursday morning died from smoke inhalation, according to Albuquerque police on Sunday.
Despite accounts from onlookers at the scene, police maintain he was not shot by anybody.
According to APD, 15-year-old Brett Rosenau was discovered deceased inside the house after the fire was extinguished.
Early Thursday morning, Albuquerque police were looking for Qiaunt Kelley for breaking his probation. Authorities also wanted to question him about a recent murder investigation and a shootout in which an officer was involved.
Kelley was discovered by police at a southeast Albuquerque residence, but when they confronted him, he locked himself inside. Rosenau, according to police, also raced into the house.
Officers used several rounds of munitions to try to compel Kelley to comply after several hours of trying. Rosenau remained inside.
When they realized the house was on fire, the SWAT situation came to an end.
Rosenau didn’t escape the building, but Kelley did with severe burns as the firefighters arrived.
There’s now a new investigation underway to determine what started the fire and whether the munitions were to blame.
