Prince George's County police say officers used tasers, pepper spray before deadly shooting
Man dead after officer-involved shooting in Hyattsville
Police officials said the officers who responded to a complaint about a man with two knives near the Mall at Prince Georges deployed Tasers, pepper spray, and a beanbag gun before finally resorting to lethal force when he advanced on an officer.
HYATTSVILLE, Md. - Police officials said the officers who responded to a complaint about a man with two knives near the Mall at Prince Georges deployed Tasers, pepper spray, and a beanbag gun before finally resorting to lethal force when he advanced on an officer.
According to police, the suspect, who has been identified as Leonard Shand, 49, of Bowie, said he wanted to die during the incident, which lasted approximately 28 minutes.
Police say Shand had reportedly attacked an employee inside of a Starbucks location near the scene with a pipe three days earlier.
FOX 5's Paul Wagner reports Shand also got into a fight with a police officer last May outside of a Starbucks location.
A witness at the scene recorded video of the incident unfolding (See below)
When Shand returned on Thursday morning armed with two knives, the store contacted police around 7:14 a.m.
Ten officers from three departments responded to the scene in an effort to de-escalate the situation.
During the shooting, a woman was filming the situation from a nearby office building when an officer’s bullet struck the window where she was standing, coming within inches of her face.
A PGPD spokeswoman said it’s unclear which officer’s bullet hit the window and that it was obviously an accident. The spokeswoman added the first priority of officers was to keep the officers and people closer to the scene safe.