A police officer shot and killed a 22-year-old man and injured a 21-year-old woman outside a Delaware 7-Eleven Monday night.
New Castle County Police officers were conducting a drug investigation involving Andrew Edelmann near the 7-Eleven at Maryland and East Reamer avenues in the Richardson Park section of Wilmington around 7:40 p.m., county police said Tuesday.
"Officers had specific information that Edelmann was going to be delivering a quantity of illegal drugs," police said in a news release.
"Officers located Edelmann inside his vehicle, a Hyundai Santa Fe, in the parking lot of the 7-11 convenience store on Maryland Avenue and attempted to stop and detain him pursuant to the active drug investigation."
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Police said that the 22-year-old ignored their commands to surrender and in an attempt to "evade apprehension, he accelerated his vehicle and drove in the direction of officers."
An officer nearby then opened fire, striking Edelmann and the 21-year-old riding in his SUV, police said.
Both Edelmann and the woman were taken to the Christiana Medical Center where he later died, investigators said. He would have turned 23 on Tuesday.
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The woman continued to be treated Tuesday for non-life-threatening injuries.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC10's Tim Furlong shows the entire incident playing out in just seconds.
You see what appears to be a police pickup truck blocking a vehicle in and then the driver trying to take off. Another marked police car then shows up within moments, lights flashing. The SUV doesn't go far before coming to a stop in the parking lot.
Police said they recovered illegal drugs and a loaded assault-style rifle from inside Edelmann's SUV. They did not say what type of drugs they recovered or whether or not Edelmann legally owned the weapon.
The county police Criminal Investigations Unit and the Delaware Department of Justice-Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust both continued to investigate the shooting.
The officer who opened fire is a 10-year veteran of the force, police said. The officer was placed on administrative leave, which is the policy of the police department.
Police didn't go on camera Tuesday to talk about the deadly shooting. Edelmann's father told NBC10 his son legally owned the gun that police found in his vehicle. He also said his son tried to get away because he didn't have enough time to realize that police officers were the people approaching him.
Anyone with information on the incident should call Detective Lieutenant Justin Breslin of the Criminal Investigations Unit at 302-395-8110 or email him at Justin.Breslin@newcastlede.gov. You can also call the New Castle County Division of Police non-emergency number at 302-573-2800.
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