APPLE CREEK, Ohio — Wayne County Sheriff’s office is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Sunday morning.
Deputies responded to a call for assistance from the Apple Creek Police Department around 10:48 a.m. where they learned that a 60-year-old man armed with a handgun was behind a business in the downtown area of Apple Creek threatening to harm himself with the gun.
Deputies, Apple Creek police and troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol attempted to de-escalate the situation for more than 30 minutes, authorities said.
The man held the gun to his head, telling the officials that they would have to “shoot him”, deputies said.
The man then approached one of the deputies who told the man to stop and drop the gun multiple times. The man refused to stop and was less than 40 feet away with the gun in his hand while telling the deputy to shoot him, according to officials.
The deputy fired one round from his rifle that struck the man, ending the confrontation, deputies said.
The man was transported to the Wooster Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The man’s identity has not been released.
The deputy has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated, which is standard protocol.
Sheriff Travis Hutchinson released the following statement on the incident:
My deputies respond to suicidal individuals almost daily and have a long history of getting these people the medical help they need without arrest. In this case, the deputies did all they could to obtain help for this man. Sadly this the man not only refused this help but placed the responding law enforcement officers and members of the public in danger while making threats towards their safety.
