ST. CHARLES PARISH, La. — A man was shot and killed by a St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Deputy on Thursday morning.
According to St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office spokesperson, they were responding to a person with a gun.
The shooting happened in Hahnville around 7:45 a.m. and the deceased man has been identified as 58-year-old Charles Verdin.
In the investigation revealed that prior to the shooting, Verdin was walking on Nicholas Street waving a gun at two people in the area. He allegedly ignored repeated requests to throw down what appeared to be an AR-15 assault rifle before pointing it toward deputies in what they described as an aggressive manner.
Deputies shot Verdin several times in self defense. The sheriff's office said emergency medical aid was administered immediately until EMT's took over.
Verdin died at the scene shortly after.
Through the investigation, deputies discovered that the firearm was in fact a realistic appearing "airsoft-type" gun.
WWL Louisiana spoke with the man who said he called 911 after a man pointed a gun at him. According to Jordan Spencer, the deceased man lived two houses down from him, and he believed him to suffer from mental illness.
"As soon as the police got there I seen them trying to talk with the man and trying to say hey look come out of the car and get on the ground and all that stuff just talk to us," Spencer shared. "And I’m assuming he refused to do so so I ended up going inside because I didn’t want to have to witness anything...and about five minutes after I was inside I heard the gunshots go off."
The sheriff's office said Verdin possessed an extensive criminal history dating back to 2003, such as:
- Drug charges
- Aggravated assault
- Criminal trespass
- Theft
- Simple battery
- DWI
- Aggravated assault against a peace officer with a motor vehicle
They also said that as of September, Verdin was served a restraining order instructing him to stay away from a resident living on Nicholas Street.
The sheriff’s office is still investigating the incident.
We will update this story with the latest information.
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