Ohio man firing AR-15 to celebrate new year shot dead by police officer, wife claims
Police says officers were investigating reports of gunfire in area
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A Black man who was firing a gun to celebrate the new year has allegedly been shot dead by a police officer without warning.
Marquetta Williams said the incident occurred outside their home in Ohio’s Canton city at 12.05am on Saturday, when her husband James Williams, 46, was firing celebratory shots using her AR-15 rifle.
She said that he had gone inside after participating in the annual neighbourhood tradition but then went back outside to fire a few more celebratory shots.
He fired four shots into the air and turned to follow her inside again, but then said: “I’ve been shot”, according to the Associated Press.
Ms Williams said that her husband was shot dead by police officers who opened fire, without any warning, through the wooden security fence of the family’s home. “Out of the blue, he said he got shot, he got hit,” she said.
“I don’t know where it came from. Nobody said anything. They didn’t say ‘police’. They didn’t say ‘freeze’. They didn’t say ‘drop your weapon’. They just shot him.”
She then called 911 while the officers came to her house. “There were 30-something officers with guns pointing at us, telling us to get down and come out of the house with our hands up.”
He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead a short while later.
In a statement later on Saturday, police chief Jack Angelo said the shots were fired while officers were investigating reports of gunfire in the area. An officer who was outside his vehicle confronted someone who began shooting a firearm. Mr Angelo said the officer feared for his safety and fired his duty weapon at the person, striking him.
But Ms Williams said that no officers identified themselves before the shooting.
The police department has since declined further comment. It said that the Ohio bureau of criminal investigation was probing the incident and all evidence, including body-camera images and firearms, had been turned over to the agency.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure in shootings involving police. His name has not been released.
Mr Williams was a stay-at-home father and stepfather of six girls, and was at home with his wife, three of their daughters and two other family members when the incident occurred.
“My husband was a good man, and he didn’t deserve to die this way,” Ms Williams told The Repository. “He was loved. He was loveable and kind. He would give you the shirt off of his back... He’s going to be dearly missed. He shouldn’t have died the way that he did. I just want justice for him.”