Police say Adelaide hit-and-run suspect was brandishing shotgun before he was killed
A man shot dead by elite South Australian police at an Adelaide motel was brandishing a shotgun and threatening a woman who was locked inside the room with him, police say.
The deputy commissioner, Linda Williams, said police tried to negotiate with the 24-year-old man to surrender peacefully.
“Shots were heard from the room and a short time later the man was shot by police,” Williams said in Adelaide on Sunday. “The man was treated at the scene but unfortunately he died from his injuries.”
The 21-year-old woman, who was known to the man, was not physically injured during the ordeal at the Tollgate Motel at Glen Osmond on Saturday night. Williams said the woman was being threatened.
The man was wanted for earlier crashing his van into a police officer.
Police had been looking for him after he deliberately drove into an officer who tried to pull him over at Mitchell Park on Friday.
About 7pm on Saturday police tracked him to the motel on Mount Barker Road. Elite officers surrounded the room and some guests were forced to evacuate their rooms.
Williams said major crime detectives would investigate the incident and a report prepared for the coroner.
A commissioner’s inquiry will also be held into the shooting. No police were injured during the incident.
The van used in the hit-and-run was found dumped at Hallett Cove hours after the incident, which left the male officer with a concussion and a cut on his head.
The assistant commissioner, Noel Bamford, told reporters a full investigation would be conducted into the incident.
“This matter is quite tragic in the way it’s ended,” he told reporters. “Unfortunately he has died as a consequence of the police action.
“It’s important we undertake a complete and thorough investigation into the matter.”