Knife-wielding man fatally shot by police in West Virginia hospital emergency room

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Police in West Virginia shot and killed a knife-wielding man in a hospital emergency room after he attacked an employee early Friday, authorities said.

The shooting occurred around 1:45 a.m. at Charleston Area Medical Center’s General Hospital in Charleston, Police Chief Scott Dempsey said at a news conference.

The suspect walked into the emergency room shortly after midnight seeking treatment for an undetermined injury. He began acting erratically, yelled and became aggressive toward others. The man eventually came out of a bathroom with a knife, lunged at others, moved furniture and sprayed a fire extinguisher, Dempsey said.

Others in the emergency room “were trying to just de-escalate the situation, but it obviously was not working. And at some point they had to protect theirself by getting to safety,” Dempsey said.

When an arriving officer ordered the suspect to drop the knife, the man went into an elevator and began attacking an employee before the officer shot the suspect. The suspect fell to the floor and later was pronounced dead. The employee was not injured, the chief said.

Police later identified the man as Peter Delnardo Lilly, 46, of Charleston.

The emergency room was locked down for about two hours afterward, hospital spokesperson Dale Witte said in a statement.