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Authorities: Officer fatally shoots hatchet-wielding man

Posted at 5:47 AM, Dec 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-19 05:47:44-05

OAK PARK, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a police officer in suburban Detroit has fatally shot a hatchet-wielding man who had threatened a shooting.

Steve Cooper, director of Oak Park’s public safety department, says the man called police Monday evening and told them he had a gun and a hatchet. Cooper says the man said he would “shoot up the neighborhood” and confronted officers who responded to a home.

Cooper says one of the officers shot the 48-year-old man after he advanced toward them “wielding the hatchet in a threatening manner.”

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His name wasn’t immediately released. No other injuries were reported.

Cooper says the officer who shot the man has been placed on paid administrative leave. The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.