BECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) — Several law enforcement authorities shot a man on a federal highway in West Virginia, news outlets reported Wednesday, and video of the shooting was circulating on social media.
Authorities did not release details or respond to requests for more information.
In the video, the man walks onto the four-lane freeway near the city of Beckley while holding what appears to be a handgun. At least a half-dozen law enforcement officers are in pursuit with their guns drawn. The man alternately points the object in his hand at his head and raises it in the air several times while facing the officers and then turning his back and walking away.
An officer shoots the man, who falls to the ground. Then authorities fire several more times, even as he lies unresponsive.
The West Virginia State Police, Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department and the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment Wednesday.
The Register-Herald reported that the shooting happened Wednesday morning after the man drove a blue pickup truck into a ditch on the side of the highway, then took off on foot.
News outlets report that a passerby recorded the video while sitting in a car across from a mall near U.S. 19 near Beckley, in the southern part of the state.
Shortly after the shooting, a body lying on the road and covered by a white sheet was removed from the scene and taken away by ambulance, according to the news reports.
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