Police officer killed man who pointed guns at him

OXON HILL, Md. – A police officer in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC, shot dead a man who had pointed guns at him, each of which turned out to be a “realistic line,” authorities said on Saturday.

The shooting death of Cedric Williams, 29, occurred Friday afternoon at an apartment complex in Oxon Hill where the officer lived, according to a press release from the Prince George County Police Department.

A complex employee told the agent that a man banned from the property was on site, after which the uniformed agent tried unsuccessfully to remove Williams, according to a preliminary investigation by the department.

A verbal confrontation led to a physical struggle, and the suspect drew a handgun from his satchel and appeared to be attempting to shoot, police said. The pistol did not fire and Williams threw it in a wooded area, investigators said.

The veteran officer then deployed a Taser twice at Williams but it was not effective. Williams then retrieved what looked like an “AR-15 style rifle” and pointed it at the officer, who then discharged his police weapon several times, killing Williams, the statement said. Like the handgun, the rifle was also later determined to be a “realistic replica,” the department said.

A spokesperson for the department did not immediately respond to a question on Saturday evening requesting further information on the aftershocks.

The agent, who joined the department in 2009 but has not been identified by name, is now on administrative leave pending an investigation by the department’s internal affairs division. The Prince George County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing all shootings involving officers, the statement said. Williams did not have a fixed address. Authorities have not disclosed information on the races of those involved.