A 27-year-old Rockingham County man is dead after he allegedly reached for a pistol and did not comply with instructions leading the deputy attempting to take the man into custody to fire his service weapon.
According to Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson, a deputy attempted to take Justin Scott Lantz into custody on Rock Fence Lane at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
According to the deputy, Lantz repeatedly stated that he would not be taken into custody and then actively resisted the attempt by the deputy to do so in a safe manner.
The subject went toward a pistol that was laying on top of a small table nearby and was told by the deputy not to touch it, Hutcheson said in a news release. The deputy said the subject did not comply with the instructions and did so anyway.
The deputy fired his service weapon at the subject at that time.
Emergency personnel were immediately called and quickly responded to the scene, according to the Sheriff’s Office, and after attempts to treat the subject were unsuccessful, he was declared to be deceased.
The Virginia State Police are investigating the incident. The name of the deputy involved in the shooting was not released.
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Crystal Graham
