Neighbors of the 22-year-old Lancaster County man who was shot and killed by a police officer Saturday morning say he was quiet and polite, and they’re shocked to hear what happened.
“He was a very nice kid, my daughter used to play guitar with him,” says neighbor Marianne Thomson. “We’re both shocked by this, I don’t want him to be made out to be a mean person or a bad person because he was not at all.”
Lititz Borough Police say the man lived with his grandmother on Arrowhead Drive in Lititz. His grandmother called police at 3 a.m. asking for help for an issue with her grandson. Police haven’t said why she called.
They say when the officer arrived, the man threatened to kill him and tried to grab his handgun. The officer tased him. The man then went into the kitchen and grabbed a large knife. The officer repeatedly told him to stop, but the man continued forward with the knife raised. The officer shot him several times, killing him.
“He is not that type of aggressive person, I don’t know what brought it on,” says Thomson. “It’s just so sad that they couldn’t have done something different.”
Lancaster County Detectives are handling the investigation. The officer is now on administrative leave, routine after an officer-involved shooting.