A man fatally shot by a Loudoun County sheriff’s deputy Friday morning was experiencing a mental-health crisis, his family said Saturday.
Deputies had visited the home a day earlier when Wood called 911 because he was hearing voices and felt afraid, Gary Byler, the family’s attorney, said in an interview Saturday.
When deputies arrived at the home Thursday, Byler said they told Wood’s sister, his longtime caregiver, that they could take him to the hospital for a psychological exam.
She declined and said she would call again if she was unable to calm Wood herself, Byler said.
Less than 24 hours later, she locked herself in a room and called 911 to report that Wood was threatening her.
When a deputy arrived at the home in the 41400 block of Carriage Horse Drive early Friday, Wood met him at the door holding two knives, police said. Wood refused to drop the knives, police said, and continued to walk toward the deputy, who then killed him with a single shot.
Wood’s family said in a statement Saturday they were devastated and hoped his death would be a wake-up call for first responders who work with people with mental illnesses.
“I’m at a loss as to why they wouldn’t involve a mental-health professional when the police had been there the day before,” Byler said.
"All indications are that the appropriate protocol was followed," Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said Friday.
The county sheriff’s department turned the case over to the Virginia State Police for further investigation. No updates were available Saturday afternoon, a state police spokesman said.
Wood’s sister cared for him for at least a decade, Byler said. The siblings lived together for about a year in the Loudoun County home she owns.
Wood worked in sales until a few years ago, when mental illness and vascular problems prevented him from continuing, Byler said. The attorney could not specify what kind of mental illness Wood had.
The deputy, who has not been identified, worked in law enforcement for five years and has been with the department for one. He was placed on paid administrative leave.
The last person fatally shot by a Loudoun deputy was a woman wielding a knife in a Costco in 2013.
At least 137 people killed by police so far this year showed signs of mental illness, according to a Post database on fatal shootings by police. In 2015, about a quarter of the 990 people shot and killed by police had a history of mental illness.
