Pima County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a reportedly suicidal man Tuesday night after he refused to drop what appeared to be a gun, a sheriff’s spokeswoman said this morning.
The man’s name was not released nor were the deputies’ names released early today.
The shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m. after deputies confronted the man outside a motel in the 15600 block of North Oracle Road, said Deputy Dawn Barkman.
Someone had called the Sheriff’s Department and said the man was heading south on Oracle in the Catalina area, Barkman said on a taped telephone news line.
The caller told dispatchers the man was believed armed with a gun and was suicidal, she said.
When deputies ordered the man to drop an object in his hand, the man refused, “made some furtive movements,” and the deputies fired, killing him, Barkman said.
Bureau Chief Richard Kastigar this morning said he was told the man had been armed with a sawed-off shotgun when confronted by deputies.
Check www.tucsoncitizen.com, which will have details as they are released.