Deputies shoot, kill Arkansas man

A man who had been walking down a McCurtain County road with a gun fired a shot at the sheriff before he was shot and killed by deputies, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported.

The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department asked OSBI special agents to investigate the officerinvolved fatal shooting that happened Sunday near Tom.

Devin Hawkins, 32, of Foreman, Arkansas, died after he fired a shot at the sheriff and was shot by deputies, according to a news release.

The sheriff’s office received a call about a man walking down a road with a gun and threatening to kill people. When deputies arrived they were told the man had run into a wooded area, the OSBI reported.

A deputy saw a pickup leaving a home on Jasper Hollow Road, near the area where a man with a gun had been seen. The deputy pulled over the vehicle. The driver lived at the residence and told the deputy he was giving a ride to his passenger, whom he did not know. The OSBI identified the passenger as Hawkins.

The deputy asked Hawkins if he had a weapon. Hawkins showed the deputy a gun in his waistband. Hawkins then grabbed the handgun and put it to his head. By that time, another deputy and the sheriff had arrived on the scene, according to the news release.

The deputies tried to get Hawkins to put down the gun and get out of the pickup.

Hawkins refused and pointed the gun at Sheriff Kevin Clardy, firing at least one time. The deputies then shot Hawkins, killing him. No one else was injured.

The district attorney will determine if the shooting was justified, the OSBI reported.