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Man in kilt spotted on Canal Walk before fatal police shooting

Posted at 12:29 PM, Jul 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-26 00:09:42-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- The man shot and killed by police in downtown Richmond Tuesday morning was spotted along the Richmond Canal Walk prior to the fatal shooting at 3rd and Main Streets.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, was described by witnesses as a shirtless white male, wearing a kilt, and carrying a knife, ax, or blade. Photos of a man who fit that description walking along the Canal Walk were sent to CBS 6.

Man in kilt walking along Canal Walk in downtown Richmond (PHOTO: Kevin Barber)

Man in kilt walking along Canal Walk in downtown Richmond (PHOTO: Kevin Barber)

Witnesses to this morning's incident can send emails and photos here.

The incident began Tuesday morning at about 9:31 a.m. when people began calling police about a man on Tredegar Street carrying what appeared to be a knife or ax.

About 10 minutes later, construction workers at 5th and Tredegar streets called police to report the man threatened them.

Around 9:50 a.m., people around 5th and Cary Streets called police to report the man.

A witness who did not want to be identified on camera said that she took video of the man "in case anything happened or he did something, I could sort of say, this was the guy."

She said he was talking to himself and was "zone out, with tunnel vision, walking up the street.

The last image she remembers is him crossing the street.

"He walked clean in the middle of traffic and just put, right hand up, sort of like stop, and the cars stopped and let him go," she said.

At 10:05 a.m., police encountered the man at 3rd and Main Streets. He was still armed with weapons, police said and they attempted to use de-escalation techniques to get him to release the weapons, but he did not.

Eyewitness Carter Lowery was making a delivery when he spotted the suspect.

"I see the guy in like a kilt with an ax already out in one hand and like a knife or something out in the other," he said. "And he`s like marching down the street like he`s already upset. Mad at the world I guess."

Lowery watched the encounter between the man and police.

"They get out of their cars and they're all you know, "sir, you need to put the weapon down,'" he said. "They open their doors and their behind the doors like clearly something is about to happen."

Tiffany McCoy, who works at 3rd Street Diner, said that even after police deployed a Taser he charged at officers, who then fired their weapons at the suspect.

Witnesses said the man charged at officers, who then fired their weapons at the suspect.

Chief Durham said two officers fired shots and one was injured, but that his body armor prevented him from being seriously injured.

The victim was pronounced dead at 10:31 a.m. at the hospital. His identity has not been released.

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