Police in Virginia shot a man at a dealership Tuesday after he attacked an officer with a baseball bat, they said.
Officers were called to Wynne Ford in Hampton, Va., by store staff after a 30-year-old man carrying a bat “was acting aggressively,” Hampton Police Chief Mark Talbot said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Police didn’t identify the man.
When an officer attempted to de-escalate the situation, the man struck her with the bat, and a nearby officer then shot the man, Talbot said.
The officer who was struck was “injured severely,” he said. She “said to me, ‘I just wanted everybody to get home safely, including the man with the baseball bat,’ ” Talbot said.
As of Thursday morning, the man was hospitalized in critical condition, Sgt. Reginald Williams told Automotive News, and the officer had been released from the hospital.
The officer who shot the man has been placed on leave while the department conducts an administrative and criminal investigation, as is common after a police shooting, Williams said. Police did not identify either officer.
Police did not reveal the nature of the man’s connection to the dealership but said he was known by employees and had previously harassed them.
Wynne Ford CEO Pat Fields declined to comment, citing the active investigation.
No others at the scene were injured, and there was no property damage, Williams said.
Source: https://www.autonews.com/dealers/police-shoot-man-ford-dealership-after-officer-assaulted