Prince William Police Release Details of Deadly Shooting of Haymarket Teen

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The criminal investigation into the officer-involved shooting that occurred on September 15, 2017 in the Haymarket area of Prince William County has been completed, said Sgt. Jonathan Perok, Public Information Officer for the Prince William Police Department

The investigation was conducted by detectives from the Prince William County Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and was reviewed by the Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office, this morning, for a determination of criminal liability concerning the officers’ actions in the shooting.

The Commonwealth Attorney, Paul Ebert, ruled the police officer's actions were justified, Tuesday morning.

"In the interest of keeping the residents of Prince William County informed of significant incidents involving our officers and the community, further details of the investigation and the ruling of criminal liability are being publicly disclosed," Perok said.

September 15,  at approximately 10:45 a.m., the Prince William County Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call from a male claiming he had a bomb strapped to his chest and was holding his mother hostage inside a residence located in the 6800 block of Hartzell Hill Lane in Haymarket.

"During the call, the individual stated he had blades and blunt weapons and that he was possibly going to retrieve a gun," said Perk. "The male also made threats towards his family and the police, in addition to making statements that he did not want to live anymore. He eventually became agitated with the call-taker upon further questioning and disconnected."

Communications center staff were unable to reestablish contact with the caller before officers arrived. A patrol officer and an officer assigned to the Department’s Tactical Training & Response Unit were first to arrive in the area of the home at approximately 10:58 a.m.

Due to the threat of the bomb, the officers parked their vehicles down the street away from the residence and attempted to coordinate their approach.

"At that point, a male ran towards the officers from the residence in a panic and informed them his brother had a weapon. While one of the officers was retrieving equipment from his trunk, the other officer observed a different male strike a female with a large metal object in front of the home," Perok said.

The young woman was able to run away from the assailant, at which time, the individual began approaching the officers at an aggressive pace. "At that point, the officer realized the object the male was carrying was a full-sized crowbar," Perok said.

As the male neared one of the officers, he reportedly raised the crowbar in the air with both hands in a threatening manner. According to police and independent witnesses, officer gave multiple verbal commands for the individual to stop and drop the weapon. However, teen ignored the commands and continued to advance towards the officer.

"At that point, the officer, in fear for his own safety, fired his department issued handgun twice towards the male, striking him in the upper body," Perok said.

No other shots were fired. The report of shots fired was communicated to police dispatch at approximately 11:05 a.m.

At the time of the interaction with police, the male was wearing a heavy jacket. Officers quickly determined no explosives were on his person and immediately requested rescue personnel respond to the scene to treat his injuries. Officers provided first aid, including CPR, until medical services arrived. As officers were providing first aid, a knife was located in the pocket of the jacket.

The male died at the scene a short time later. No officers were injured during the incident.

The female involved in the assault was 18-years-old and sustained serious injuries to her head and back as a result of being struck by the crowbar. She was transported to an area hospital for treatment. The crowbar was determined to be 3-feet in length.

“This is a tragedy for the family, whenever you have a loss of life,” said Prince William Police Chief Barry Barnard, at Tuesday morning's media conference. “It’s a tragedy, and we understand that. At the same time, it’s a traumatic event for an officer who used deadly force.”

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