FT. COLLINS, Colo. — According to the District Attorney's Office, Fort Collins police officers were justified in shooting a man with a pellet gun after being called to a home for a fake stabbing call.
Officers say they had to shoot Austin Snodgrass, 25, after he called police on Jan. 21 and filed a false report about a stabbing. When officers arrived, they say he confronted them with a black pellet gun that police say they couldn't differentiate from a real handgun.
Police say Snodgrass pointed the handgun directly at police and rushed forward before Officer Matthew Brede, a veteran with the force since 2011, fired.
Snodgrass dropped to the ground with several gunshot wounds, and officers, who moments before confronted him, set to work on saving his life.
A letter and investigation from District Attorney Clifford Riedel suggests police carried Snodgrass from the scene to where he could safely be treated as officers continued to secure the scene from a potential assailant with a knife.
Eventually, police explained they realized the call — allegedly placed by Snodgrass — had been a hoax.
In Riedel's review of the day's events, he found police legally justified to shoot Snodgrass.
Snodgrass is recovering from his gunshot wounds. He's currently in stable condition in the hospital.
MORE | See more coverage from the shooting here.
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