Deputies kill 81-year-old man who they say fired gun first

UNION, S.C. – Authorities say police officers in South Carolina shot and killed an 81-year-old man who fired a gun at them as they tried to take him into custody for a mental evaluation.

Union County Sheriff’s deputies said they were called Saturday night to a home near Union after a neighbour said Harold Thompson fired a gun in the air after his dog barked at him. Deputies say Thompson didn’t answer his door and, after several tries, they obtained a court order for a mental evaluation.

A sheriff’s statement says when deputies entered the home to take Thompson into custody, he walked out of a room with a gun, didn’t drop the weapon when ordered and fired at officers.

No officers were injured.

No one answered the phone Monday at Thompson’s home.