DUMFRIES, Va. (AP) - An armed 79-year-old man was fatally shot when five police officers fired at him after his wife called police to their Virginia home to report that her husband was “making concerning statements,” police said.
The wife said Thursday night that her husband was making the statements while armed and had been suicidal, the Prince William County Police Department said in a statement posted on their Twitter page.
The man was not immediately named, but police said by the time officers got to the couple’s home in Dumfries, the man had left and was walking around outside.
Officers requested helicopter assistance from Fairfax County police. That helicopter search located the man in a wooded area while he was walking back to the home, police said.
The officers met him near the front door of the residence and that’s when they shot him, police said. He was transported to a hospital where he later died.
Authorities said it was not yet clear how many times the man was struck or if he had fired his gun.
The state legislature recently passed legislation that will create crisis response teams around the state to dispatch mental health professionals along with police to respond to emergency calls involving people experiencing mental health issues.
Bruce Cruser, the executive director of Mental Health America of Virginia, said the group supported the legislation.
“Frankly, it’s a very difficult situation when you have someone armed and in a mental health crisis. The safety of the responders and of the individual themselves is priority, but the training that the mental health professional has can in many cases de-escalate the situation,” Cruser said.
None of the officers were injured, and they will be placed on a routine paid leave.
Dumfries is a town located about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Richmond.
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