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Leonard Shand Dead In Officer-Involved Shooting Reported Near The Mall At Prince George's

HYATTSVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- Police in Prince George's County are investigating the fatal police-involved shooting of an armed suspect Thursday morning near The Mall at Prince George's.

The shooting happened in the area of Toledo and Belcrest roads along East-West Highway in Hyattsville.

Three police agencies -- Hyattsville, Mt. Rainier, and Prince George's County -- responded to the scene to try and stop an armed man.

Police identified the man Thursday afternoon as 49-year-old Leonard Shand of New Carrollton.

Hyattsville police said officers spent 30 minutes trying to de-escalate the situation but to no avail before the suspect was fatally wounded.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, the Hyattsville police chief said they initially got a call about an armed individual at a coffee shop in Hyattsville Thursday morning. The coffee shop had recently called police on the same man after he allegedly assaulted an employee.

Officers saw the man on East-West Highway armed with two knives. They tried to contain the situation in the middle of morning rush hour -- trying to keep children, motorists and pedestrians in the area safe. Officers used the Taser on him three times but he was not responsive to it. Another officer pepper-sprayed the man, again it didn't slow down the suspect.

That's when a police supervisor arrived with a non-lethal gun that shoots bean bags. Another officer was also on standby with a flash bang -- which police were hoping to use to divert the suspect's attention so they could take him into custody.

As the officers are on scene, the suspect threatens the supervisor saying he's "ready to die."

Hyattsville Police-Involved Shooting
From overhead, the police confrontation with an armed suspect in Hyattsville on Sept. 26, 2019.

The officer deployed the flash bang and at the same time the supervisor began to shoot the non-lethal weapon. He shot 4 times at the suspect, but again the suspect was unfazed.

Instead, the suspect charged the supervisor with the knives in hand, triggering other officers to shoot him. The suspect died.

Police say preliminarily that six Hyattsville city police officers and three county police officers were involved in the fatal shooting.

Prince George's Police Chief Hank Stawinski said he did review both dashcam and body-worn camera footage of the shooting. He said he believes officers tried every method to take the man into custody before firing their weapons.

Police continue to investigate the shooting.

An autopsy done will be done on Shand as police continue to collect and review evidence in the case.

Traffic in the area is slow-moving at East-West Highway and Adelphi-Queens Chapel roads.

Police are asking people to use an alternate route.

This story is developing; stay with WJZ for updates.

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