Family: Man shot by trooper had only Airsoft gun
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BUTLER (AP) – The family of a western Pennsylvania man who was fatally shot by an off-duty state trooper says the dead man was armed only with an Airsoft gun, not a real weapon.
The Butler County district attorney’s office and the Butler state police barracks are investigating Friday night’s shooting in Butler Township.
That’s when police say 25-year-old Kristopher Barkus went to the unnamed trooper’s home, while the officer was home with his wife and children.
Robert Barkus, the suspect’s father, says his other son went with Kristopher and tried to get him to leave the trooper’s home before he was shot.
Police Lt. Eric Hermick says the trooper yelled for Barkus to drop his weapon. When Barkus reportedly did not, Hermick says the officer shot him in the chest.
The investigation continued Monday.