OHP Trooper Involved In Fatal Shooting In Nowata County

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says one of its troopers was involved in a fatal shooting in Nowata County Monday. Troopers said it started with a 911 call about a man in Delaware with a knife.

The OHP says the shooting happened at about 9:45 this morning on Washington Street in the town of Delaware, which is just off Highway 169 about 15 miles south of the Kansas state line.

The shooting scene was cordoned off most of the day as troopers continue to investigate and the small community tried to make sense of what happened.

The town of Delaware was in shock after the deadly officer-involved shooting.

"I've got local sheriffs, all the local cops and a young man in his 30s that I have known since he was an infant, that grew up right down here on the street, is laying dead. It's just horrific," said neighbor Tracy Boone.

Boone came home to find a crime scene in her neighborhood.

"It's just unbelievable that yesterday he was sitting right there and today he's laying in my front yard," she said.

Witness, Linda Koscielny said, "It's difficult to see the pain that's caused here today with his family. He comes from a very good family and my heart, my prayers go out to them, but it shouldn't of happened, should of had a different outcome."

Family members of the shooting victim gathered behind the yellow crime scene tape waiting for answers.

"The suspect is deceased, the trooper is unharmed," said Captain George Brown with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said someone called 911 to report a man with a knife. The OHP dispatched a trooper who confronted the man. There was a brief foot chase, according to the OHP, which ended when the trooper shot and killed the man.

"The caller came in and stated that the suspect was possibly armed with a knife. The trooper contacted him here, a short foot pursuit ensued and that resulted in shots being fired," Brown said.

Boone said she knew the victim as a gentle man.

"He's peaceful, you know, he gets on the Internet, reads the news. That's what he's looking at, he's looking at the newspaper, and stuff, and he just reading. He's just sitting there as peaceful as can be. I can't understand," she said.

"I run through the house and I come out here, Josh was by that corner and the officer was over on this corner and I seen him unload the gun," Koscielny said. "I begged him not to shoot him. I just begged him not to shoot him. He wasn't hurt, there were other alternatives."

OHP said the trooper involved in the shooting is on paid administrative leave until they finish the investigation. His name has not been released.

The OHP has not released the identity of the man who was shot, but neighbors said the man killed was Joshua Stand, who is in his thirties.