Man Arrested, Accused Of Shooting With Intent To Kill

Mayes County deputies say a potentially deadly situation with a suicidal man ended without anyone getting seriously injured. 

Deputies say Salvatore Dilberto was able to get his hands on a deputy's gun and fire shots, but the sheriff says the deputies used their training and took Dilberto into custody. 

Deputies and Chouteau Police were called to a home Monday night where they say Dilberto was standing outside with a knife, threatening to kill himself. 

They say Dilberto ran into the house and went into a bedroom, and deputies followed. 

"When the suspect did come out, he had one of his hands behind his back and presented it like he had a weapon. He had already made statements that he wanted to die. Basically, it was coming across that he wanted to die by suicide by cop," said Sheriff Mike Reed. 

Sheriff Reed said one deputy had a rifle, and another had a less lethal weapon, and they were using de-escalation tactics to try to calm Dilberto down. 

Sheriff Reed says that’s when Dilberto charged at deputies and got his hands on the rifle.

Reed says during the struggle, the deputy grabbed the barrel of the rifle and held it to the ground, and Dilberto got his hands on the trigger and fired several shots. Then the other officer used the less lethal weapon to subdue Dilberto. 

Reed says all of his deputies have spent years training and are certified in de-escalation, using less lethal tools, and dealing with people with mental health issues. 

He says because of that training, the deputies went home safe and Dilberto can get the help he needs. 

“We don’t want to take someone’s life, that’s the last thing we want to do. Unfortunately, these things are extremely volatile. They happen extremely fast. I feel like the deputies did very well using their deescalating training," said Reed. 

Dilberto is now in the Mayes County Jail for shooting with intent to kill and resisting officers.