Virginia man with mental health crisis fatally shot by police

A 22-year-old gunman was fatally shot by police in Prince William County, Virginia, on Thursday after an overnight confrontation in which officers tried to convince him to surrender his weapon and surrender, authorities said.

The incident began shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday when police received a call about “a suicidal individual” at a residence in the 3400 block of Caledonia Circle in the Woodbridge area of the county, authorities said in a statement. They said officers eventually found the man at the home of an acquaintance in the 3000 block of Bromley Court.

“The incident was contained and officers attempted multiple times throughout the evening to safely surrender the individual,” the statement said. Then, around 5:30 a.m. Thursday, “officers assaulted the individual, who was fatally shot.”

Officer Renee Carr, a police spokeswoman, said the man was shot by police and did not commit suicide.

Police did not immediately identify the man, saying only that he was 22 and lived in Woodbridge. Police Chief Peter Newsham said an investigation into the shooting will be conducted by an independent regional law enforcement task force known as a critical incident response team.