Man Wielding Rifle Fatally Shot By Officers After 'Repeatedly Ramming' Leicester Police Department With SUV
LEICESTER (CBS) – Officers fatally shot a man early Sunday morning after investigators say he repeatedly rammed his SUV into the front entrance of the Leicester Police Department building and got out of the vehicle wielding what appeared to be a rifle.
It happened around 6:15 a.m. at Leicester Police headquarters on South Main Street.
Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early said the entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras.
The man rammed the front doors until his SUV was nearly all the way into the police department lobby.
A Worcester regional emergency communications dispatcher saw the incident happening live on surveillance cameras, and contacted Leicester police and EMTs.
When officers arrived, the driver allegedly got out of his vehicle and shouldered what appeared to be a rifle, aiming it at the officers. Early could not yet say if the rifle was an authentic weapon, but said "It appeared to be a real gun when he was pointing it at the officers, yes."
After the man pointed the rifle, officers shot him. They rendered medical aid until an ambulance arrived a short time later. The suspect was rushed to St. Vincent Hospital but did not survive.
No officers were shot.
Leicester Police Chief Kenneth Antanavica said two officers were automatically placed on administrative leave following the incident, which is standard department procedure.
Early said the video is not being released at this time, but added that it shows officers responding to the scene as they were trained.
"You've got a guy shouldering a rifle, pointing it at the officers. You can see the reaction of the officers at what appears to be that rifle pointed at them. We're very fortunate that no one else was hurt," Early said. "Police have a hard, hard job. You've got a guy that pops out of the truck and he's got a rifle pointed at you. I don't want to go any further. But their job is so hard. At 6 in the morning you're staring at what appears to be a rifle as you show up at the scene."
The man's identity has not been released yet. Officials said he was in his 20s, known to police, and had some traffic violations.