Police shot and killed a man in Allentown Thursday morning after they say multiple people called to report a person walking down a street and firing shots into the air.
"Several" officers responded to the intersection of 5th and Tilghman streets around 7:03 a.m. and found the man holding a gun, Allentown Police Department Chief Tony Alsleben said. After he allegedly refused to put down the weapon, officers opened fire.
"It was very quick," Alsleben said. The officers disarmed the injured man, and he was taken to a local hospital, where he was declared dead, the chief said.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office identified the man as Andre Leach, 27, of Paterson, New Jersey.
It was not immediately clear how many officers opened fire or how many shots Leach allegedly fired before police arrived. Rumors that Leach was holding a BB gun, not a real one, were untrue, Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin said.
The district attorney said his office, along with the Allentown Police Department, were investigating the shooting.
"At the conclusion of the investigation, when facts are known, I will issue a report ruling on whether the officer involved shooting was justified or not," Martin said.
