Newark police said Monday that an officer fatally shot an apparently suicidal man on Sunday afternoon after the man pointed a handgun at officers and citizens.
Police said officers responded to a residence in the 36500 block of Bridgepointe Drive in Newark at 3:08 p.m. Sunday after a woman reported that a man was depressed and was threatening to kill himself.
Officers safely evacuated the woman from the residence and observed the 52-year-old man, a Newark resident, inside holding a handgun to his head. Officers tried to negotiate with him without success for about 40 minutes, police said.
The man eventually came out of the house and stood near the front door with the gun and repeatedly threatened to kill himself while officers tried to talk with him, according to police.
A crisis negotiator continued to try to resolve the situation but the man refused to put down the gun, alternately holding it to his head, to his chest, or placing it in his mouth, police said.
After what police described as a 20-minute tense period, the man put the gun down between his feet on the ground and the crisis negotiator believed the situation had de-escalated from an imminent crisis, police said.
However, the man refused to move away from the gun and continued to make suicidal threats, then sat down beside the gun, picked it up and became more agitated and demonstrative with it, police said.
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The man stood back up while the negotiator continued to try to de-escalate the situation, but he again threatened to kill himself and then pointed the gun at officers and nearby citizens, according to police.
An officer with 28 years of experience fired his department-issued patrol rifle at the man and struck him, police said.
Officers provided immediate medical treatment to the man but he didn't survive, according to police. His name has not yet been released.
None of the involved officers or neighboring residents were injured.
The officer who shot the man has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard policy following an officer-involved shooting, police said.
Newark police detectives are investigating the shooting with the assistance of the Union City Police Department and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, while the Alameda County District Attorney's Office is conducting a separate investigation.
Newark police said anyone with information about the incident should call Detective Sgt. David Higbee at 510-578-4247 or leave information anonymously on the "Silent Witness" hotline at 510-578-4965.
