CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire man was killed during a tense standoff with state police on Tuesday after “multiple” gunshot rounds struck an armored SWAT vehicle, the attorney general said Wednesday.
David Ward, 57, of Keene, died in the officer-involved shooting around 8 p.m. Tuesday in the area of West Street and Gilbo Avenue in Keene, Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.
No officers were injured.
The shooting, which was caught on video by a police camera on an armored vehicle, happened hours after Keene police officers conducted a traffic stop on Tuesday afternoon, Formella said.
Police had stopped a car driven by Ward, who was inside the car with a female passenger.
Soon after, the woman got out of the car and moved away, while Ward remained inside the car. Formella said officers learned that Ward had a gun and later saw him with the firearm.
Police secured the area, and a “prolonged standoff ensued with the male refusing to disarm himself and exit the vehicle,” Formella said.
Around 8 p.m., troopers of the New Hampshire State Police SWAT Unit were in a position around the car when there was gunfire, with multiple gunshot rounds striking the Unit’s armored vehicle and five troopers firing, Formella said.
Ward was struck by this gunfire and later pronounced dead.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday determined Ward’s cause of his death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was homicide.
As used by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, homicide is defined as the killing of one person by another, Formella said in his statement.
The officers who fired were members of the New Hampshire State Police.
A camera on one armored vehicle recorded the shooting, Formella said.
“That footage is currently being preserved and will be reviewed,” the attorney general said.
An investigation into the officer-involved shooting is underway by the New Hampshire Department of Justice with the assistance of the New Hampshire State Police Major Crimes Unit, Formella said.
The identities of the five troopers using deadly force are being withheld pending the conclusion of formal interviews, per standard protocol, Formella said. That process to take place in the next five to ten business days.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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