POWHATAN, Va. – Deputies were called to a home along the 2100 block of Urbine Road in Powhatan County at about 9:29 p.m. Monday. The call was for a domestic situation, according to Virginia State Police.
Law enforcement said they encountered a male subject armed with a rifle.
According to the Powhatan County Deputy Sheriff, 71-year-old Frank Short “refused” to put down his firearm despite repeated commands by the deputy and “was subsequently shot.”
Peggy Stroud, Short’s daughter, said her father had only one eye and could only hear a bit out of one ear.
“My dad can’t hardly hear at all,” Stroud said. “If they were telling my dad to put the gun down, my dad never heard them.”
Peggy Stroud said her father doesn't hear and see very well.
Police have not yet said what prompted the initial call for help.
“I just want people to know that daddy was not some kind of monster, he was a good man and everybody that knew him knew he was a good man,” daughter Lisa Lafon said.
People who live nearby are shocked by the fatal shooting.
"I'm very upset…very shaky…very nervous," said Eleanor Caviness. "We always exchanged hellos.”
“I don't think he had a harmful bone in his body,” she added, “I really don't.”
"Daddy didn't deserve to die like this,” Lafon said. “Everybody in Powhatan knew him.”
Short's daughters described their father as a caring person; a Pentecostal preacher who would give the shirt off of his back.
"The gun my dad had, had no bullets in it,” Stroud said. “It was an empty gun.”
Frank Short and his wife, who died in 2011.
Stroud said her Dad battled with depression following the death of his wife in 2011, and became upset at times but not violent.
"Something is not right,” Stroud said. “It just doesn't make sense to me because my dad would've never done something like that. Never," said Stroud.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (BCI) Richmond Field Office Police Shooting Investigative Team.
"It's all so bad," said neighbor Caviness. "I just wish the best for the policeman and his family, and Frank and his family."
There is no word on when they will release the name of that Deputy involved in the shooting.
Short’s autopsy results will be released in the coming days or weeks.
Upon completion of the state police investigation, the findings will be turned over to the Commonwealth Attorney for final review and adjudication.
