Armed man fatally shot by police in west Charlotte
An armed man was shot and killed by police early Tuesday after a standoff at a convenience store at Tuckaseegee and Little Rock roads in west Charlotte.
The man, identified as Sylasone Ackhavong, 41, had a gun when officers approached him outside a store in the 6600 block of Tuckaseegee Road around 3 a.m.
Ackhavong threatened to kill himself, according to a report from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
After a SWAT team was called in, the gunman raised his weapon and pointed it toward the officers, according to the report.
Two SWAT officers fired and struck the man. He died en route to Carolinas Medical Center, the report said.
Police have not said how many times the man was shot. Investigations are underway by CMPD and its Internal Affairs Bureau.
The officers involved in the shooting, Olin Lester and Derek Rud, have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure after a shooting.
Rud has been employed with CMPD since July 2005 and is assigned to patrol in the Metro Division.
Lester has been employed with CMPD since September 2000 and is assigned to the Special Investigations Bureau.
Lester was involved in a fatal shooting under similar circumstances in 2013.
On July 6, 2013, Lester killed Lemuel Rufus Furr III, 59, during a SWAT situation in which Furr barricaded himself in his house after shooting at his son.
Police said Furr told negotiators that he would not be taken alive. The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office ruled that the shooting was lawful.
District Attorney Andrew Murray said Lester fired a shot at Furr after watching the man come outside his house with one gun in each hand, moving toward police officers.
Ely Portillo and Maria David contributed.
Karen Sullivan: 704-358-5532, @Sullivan_kms
Officer cleared in Jan. 5 shooting
The Mecklenburg District Attorney’s Office said Officer Jacob Meadors was legally justified in the Jan. 5 killing of Carlton Murphy.
In the shooting, someone called 911 around 5 a.m. saying shots had been fired. When officers arrived, a person began shooting at them from a second-floor balcony.
Meadors returned fire, police said, and the shooter retreated into the apartment. An autopsy later revealed that he died from Meadors’ shot.
The District Attorney’s Office said several bullets struck another officer’s car and that Meadors could hear Murphy screaming about wanting to kill a police officer.
This story was originally published April 19, 2016 at 6:19 AM with the headline "Armed man fatally shot by police in west Charlotte."