A 44-year-old man who was fatally shot by officers after Delaware State Police said he charged at them with a knife has been identified as Gregory Painter.
Painter, of Milford, was fatally wounded on May 1 when troopers responded to Route 9 (Lewes-Georgetown Highway) near Harbeson Road after receiving several 911 calls just before 4 p.m. about a possible impaired driver, police said.
Previous story: Delaware State Police say man hid in occupied home before charging troopers with knife
The callers told dispatchers that a red Ford F-150 was driving slowly, swerving into opposite lanes and driving on the shoulder.
Responding police found the truck, operated by Painter, on Coolspring Road near Fisher Road. Troopers tried to stop him, but police said he kept going and officers pursued.
Painter eventually stopped in a driveway in the 28000 block of West Springside Drive, police said. He then got out of the truck with a knife and ran into a nearby home.
Painter did not live at the house, which police said was occupied at the time.
At some point, Painter left the house.
That’s when police said he “charged” toward the troopers, despite them ordering Painter to drop the knife.
The troopers fired their guns, hitting and killing Painter.
The troopers remain on administrative leave per department policy as state police and the Delaware Department of Justice investigate the shooting.
While this is the third person to be shot by a police officers in Delaware so far this year, this is the first person to have died.
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On Jan. 5, a 20-year-old Maryland man was shot by a University of Delaware police officer after the man told 911 he had suicidal intentions and wielded a knife.
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On Jan. 28, a 32-year-old man was shot by Wilmington police at East 10th and Kirkwood streets as members of the department’s Drug, Organized Crime and Vice Division were conducting a drug investigation.
More: What we know about University of Delaware police-involved shooting of armed suicidal man
More: Man shot by Wilmington police during drug investigation on city’s East Side. What we know
Police continue to investigate the May 1 shooting and ask that anyone with information regarding this case contact detectives at (302) 741-2821. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333.
Send tips or story ideas to Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299 or eparra@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Police ID man killed by Del troopers after charging at them with knife
