Authorities say police in Kent fatally shot a man who confronted them with a machete.
The man killed has been identified as 25-year-old Douglas Yon. Yon died at the scene of the shooting, which occurred around 4 a.m. Thursday outside a home in the Brady Lake Road area.
Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee said at a news conference Thursday that she didn’t know how many of the four officers who initially responded to the call fired their weapons or how many rounds were fired. A police news release said officers shot at Yon.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting with help from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The home of Kent State University, Kent is about 40 miles south of downtown Cleveland.
“We want to make sure the investigation is fair and accurate to the best of our ability,” Lee said.
In the 911 call, Yon’s cousin tells the dispatcher that Yon has said that he’ll run at police and that they’ll have to shoot him. The dispatcher tells the cousin to get everyone out of the house for their safety. Yon left the home as well and, as he vowed, charged at the officers with the machete in his hand, police said.
“He’s coming toward the cops,” the cousin tells the dispatcher. “He won’t stop.”
Gunshots can be heard in the recording, followed by an officer shouting, “Shots fired. Shots fired.” Screams, presumably from people who had left the home, can be heard in the background.
“They killed my cousin,” the woman tells the dispatcher. “I just wanted him to leave.”