Police officer fatally shot a barricaded man who was armed with a machete and hatchet, Montco DA says
After attempting to negotiate with the man, officers breached the basement of the East Greenville home where he was. The armed man charged them before he was shot, D.A. Kevin Steele said.
Montgomery County detectives are investigating a fatal shooting by police of a man who was barricaded in the basement of an East Greenville home armed with a machete and hatchet, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
In a statement issued Sunday, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said East Greenville police responded to a domestic-related call in the 100 block of Cherry Street shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday. The caller was an 18-year-old reporting a physical assault, Steele said.
Officers said a man was barricaded in the basement of the home and threatening to harm them, Steel said. With additional police from multiple departments on scene, numerous attempts to negotiate with the man were made, Steele said.
At 11:30 p.m., police officers breached the basement door and found the man armed with a machete and hatchet, Steele said. He charged at police and refused commands to drop the weapon. The statement did not make it clear which weapon the man was holding.
An officer used a Taser in a failed attempt to stop the man, and an Upper Perkiomen officer shot him, Steele said. Despite medical aid from officers, the man died at the scene at 12:05 a.m. Sunday, Steele said.
The names of the officer and the man have not been released. Per protocol in an officer-involved shooting, the investigation is being handled by county detectives.