Police officers killed a 107-year-old man armed with a gun after his granddaughter reportedly tried to persuade him to move to a new apartment.
Monroe Isadore died in a house in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on Saturday after he fired at a Swat team who had launched tear gas into his bedroom.
One local resident suggested about 30 shots might have been fired in the exchange.
A police report released on Sunday said officers had responded to a call about a domestic disturbance, said local TV station KATV.
When they arrived, Laurie Barlow told police she had “come by the house to pick up [Mr Isadore]to take him to his new home they had just got through cleaning up”.
According to the report, Mr Isadore locked himself in his room and refused to come out. When his granddaughter finally got him to open the door he pointed a gun and her and said: “You better stop breaking into my house.”
When the police arrived and attempted to make contact with Mr Isadore, he fired one shot in the direction of an officer, according to the report. The officers then retreated and waited for a negotiator to arrive.
When the negotiator was unable to make contact, the Swat team was called. Its officers inserted a camera into the room and confirmed Mr Isadore had a handgun. They released gas into the room, hoping the man would surrender peacefully, but the suspect fired at officers.
When a team entered the room, Mr Isadore continued to shoot so officers fired back, killing him.
Pauline Lewis, who lived in the house, told another station, KTHV, she had called the police after Mr Isadore had threatened her and his grandchildren. “Monroe was in the room and he had the gun and he said, ‘If you wanna live you better get away from this door’. . . . He was very angry. He got hostile. He was gonna kill somebody,” said Ms Lewis, who added that Mr Isadore had shot at police first.
She had invited him to stay with her last month and usually been able to calm him down when he got angry. She said she had had no choice but to contact the police and they had no choice other than to shoot Mr Isadore.
One local resident said he had heard approximately 30 gunshots in the exchange of fire. KHTV said officers involved in the shooting were sent on administrative leave as was standard policy while investigations continued.
Guardian News & Media 2013