Police in Prince William County said a “suicidal” armed man held officers at bay for hours, refusing to give up his weapon and surrender.
A 22-year-old man was fatally shot by police in Prince William County, Va., on Thursday after an overnight standoff in which officers tried to convince him to give up his weapon and surrender, authorities said.
Police identified the man as Gabriel Rene Ramirez of Woodbridge, Va.
The incident began shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when police received a call from one of Ramirez’s out-of-state family members. The relative was concerned about suicidal statements from Ramirez and told police he was possibly armed, authorities said in a statement. Police said officers initially responded to a residence on Caledonia Circle but found Ramirez nearby at the home of an acquaintance.
Officers engaged Ramirez in a backyard in the 3000 block of Bromley Court “in an agitated state armed with a handgun,” according to the statement. Members of a police crisis negotiation unit worked with a community services clinician over the course of several hours, making several attempts to secure “the individual’s safe surrender,” the statement said.
The responding team tried to share messages from Ramirez’s loved ones to resolve the situation but were unsuccessful, police said. Officers obtained an emergency custody order for mental health care. Then, at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, Ramirez “pointed the firearm in the direction of officers and occupied townhouses in the vicinity before being shot in the upper body by a member of the SWAT Team,” the statement said.
According to police, one cop discharged one bullet from their weapon, according to the results of a preliminary inquiry. Police routinely investigate shooting incidents involving their officers, and this one was no exception. The officer, whose identity was withheld by the agency, was placed on paid administrative leave.
A critical incident response team, an independent regional law enforcement organization, will look into the shooting, according to Police Chief Peter Newsham.
An continuing investigation by The Washington Post shows that in the last 12 months, at least 1,183 people have been shot and killed by police in the United States. The investigation, which examined 9,929 fatal police shootings since 2015, discovered that 20% of the victims of police killings over that period were experiencing a mental health crisis.
On Thursday, attempts to find Ramirez’s family members were unsuccessful.
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