Man Dead In Standoff With Tulsa Police

A man is dead after an officer-involved shooting at the Coppermill Apartments in Tulsa Saturday night. The man, who has not yet been identified, pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at police officers in an apparent suicide attempt, according to the Tulsa Police Department.

Officers first got the call at the apartment complex in the 7100 block of South Granite shortly after 9 p.m. They spoke to a man who said his roommate chased him out of the apartment with a knife and was believed to be suicidal.

Police tried to talk the man out of the apartment for over an hour. The man, who was a described as a 31-year-old Hispanic male, came out on the balcony several times but would not leave the residence.

He apparently started a few small fires in the apartment kitchen.

"It is not known if the suspect was attempting to set the apartment on fire," police said in a news release.

Just before 11 p.m., the man walked onto the balcony again, pointing what appeared to be an authentic rifle with an attached scope.

"As the suspect pointed the weapon at the officers, one officer fired multiple rounds at the suspect, hitting him at least once," the release states.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and officers discovered that the weapon was actually a BB gun.

"The officer had no way of knowing," Officer Leland Ashley said Saturday night at the scene. "The weapon looked like an authentic weapon. This officer feared for his life."

Police were still trying to verify the man's identity early Sunday. The patrol officer, whose name was not released, will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.