A police officer in the US state of Texas has fatally shot an African-American college student after the unarmed young man crashed a car through the glass doors of a car dealership, police said.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead teenager as Christian Taylor of Arlington.

Taylor, 19, was a sophomore at Angelo State University in San Angelo, where he played on the football team as a defensive back.

Officers were responding to a burglary call about 1 a.m. Friday in Arlington, when they found that someone had crashed a SUV into the front window of the Classic Buick GMC, according to a statement from the Arlington Police Department.

A struggle happened when police officers confronted Taylor and at some point during the altercation an officer-in-training discharged his weapon, police said.

Taylor died at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The officer in question was identified as 49-year-old Brad Miller, who has been with the Arlington Police Department since September.

He will be placed on administrative leave pending criminal and administrative investigations.

The shooting took place as police across the United States have come under increased scrutiny over excessive use of force, especially in cases involving black suspects.

Many US cites have been the scene of widespread protests during the past year against US police violence following the high-profile deaths of several African-Americans.

Taylor’s death comes a year after the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, by a while police officer, which spawned the Black Lives Matter movement.