Official: North Carolina officer justified in fatal shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A North Carolina prosecutor says a police officer was justified in fatally shooting a mentally ill man who pointed a rifle at the back of a fellow officer who was running for cover.

District Attorney R. Andrew Murray said Thursday that no criminal charges are justified against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Brian Walsh because he fired his gun after perceiving a threat during the March 8 confrontation.

Murray said in a 175-page report that Walsh killed 25-year-old Iaroslav Mosiiuk with a single shot to the back. Mosiiuk was pointing a rifle that was loaded, but it was missing a critical piece and wouldn’t work. The state official said Walsh could not have known that when he acted.

Officials say the officer is white, as was Mosiiuk.