Man shot by police in Star during stolen gun investigation

STAR, Idaho (AP) — Police in a small southwestern Idaho town shot and killed a 39-year-old man Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Star Police Chief Zach Hessing said Wednesday that the shooting occurred about 90 minutes after officers from the Star Police Department were responded to a report of a man who was acting erratically and refusing to leave a family member’s home.

Hessing said the officers went to the home around 8 a.m. and talked to the man, and after a short conversation he agreed to leave the residence. As they watched him walk away, they noticed he had a gun.

The police department was later notified that the gun the man had was reported stolen the night before, and that he was likely intoxicated, Hessing said. At that point they began to look for him, and several officers found the man in a downtown parking lot around 9:30 a.m.

Hessing said the man was “uncooperative” and “armed with a gun,” and that he was shot shortly after the officers made contact with him. The police officers attempted life-saving measures but the man died at the scene, he said.

Ada County Sheriff’s spokesman Patrick Orr said the officer who fired the shot and two others who witnessed the shooting have all been placed on administrative leave. The Ada County Critical Incident Task Force is investigating the shooting.

The victim’s name was not released.