Chester County DA says the shooting of a man who attacked police was justified
An unidentified officer shot the East Goshen Township man after he fired at officers during a standoff last month. The shooting victim remains hospitalized.
Chester County District Attorney Deborah Ryan has ruled that the shooting of an East Goshen Township resident by a police officer during a standoff last month was justified, officials said Monday.
The victim, a 34-year-old man whom Ryan did not identify, remains in critical condition at Paoli Memorial Hospital, where he was taken by medics after the Feb. 11 shooting.
Police were called to the man’s home on Cornwallis Drive after his mother and sister called 911, saying he was threatening to shoot them, police said. The man’s family told police he suffers from mental health issues.
» READ MORE: Chester County man shot after firing at officers during a standoff, DA says
When officers arrived, the man refused to leave the home and barricaded himself inside, investigators said.
As officers tried to negotiate with him in an effort to get him to leave the house, authorities said, the man fired 15 rounds from a handgun at them. None of the officers was hit, but one of the rounds struck the ground near where an officer was standing, according to investigators.
A member of the West Chester Regional Emergency Response Team returned fire, and struck him twice, police said. It was unclear where on his body he was hit. Police did not identify the officer who fired the shots.
After receiving a final investigative report from county detectives, Ryan ruled that the use of force was justified.