Sheriff: Deputy fatally shoots man raising rifle on U.S. 54 in Butler County

A Butler County deputy shot and killed a man who got out of a vehicle and raised a rifle Friday afternoon along U.S. 54 near Rosalia, Sheriff Kelly Herzet said.

Herzet gave this account at a news conference: At about 1:10 p.m., officers received a report of a man sitting in a small white pickup with a gun sticking out of the window. The report came from someone passing by.

The truck was on the shoulder but with two wheels on the highway, causing a hazard, Herzet said later.

Around 1:25 p.m., officers arrived and saw the gun sticking out – it appeared to be a rifle with a scope. Traffic was blocked. Officers took cover and used a public address system and binoculars to communicate with and monitor the man.

Another vehicle came up on a road toward the man’s truck and stopped, apparently when the driver saw the law enforcement vehicles. The man with the gun seemed to pay special attention to the other vehicle. Officers didn’t know who was in the vehicle or if they had any relationship with the man.

The man got out of the vehicle with the rifle and “drew down,” and the deputy “stopped the threat,” Herzet said.

Officers didn’t try to hurry the situation, but when the man raised the gun in a threatening way, “things happen,” Herzet said.

“It’s a sad situation.”

Herzet wouldn’t provide the man’s name or age but said he was “known in Butler County,” where he had previously been a resident.

The man’s family had been to the scene and were asked to go to a family home in Butler County, the sheriff said.

“Our hearts do go out to the family for this as well as for my officer who was involved with this,” Herzet said.

Flint Hills schools, about a mile and a half east of where the man had the rifle, were put on lockdown as a precaution, Herzet said.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is at the scene, he said early Friday evening.

U.S. 54 is closed from Eureka west to Rosalia. It is expected to remain closed until late Friday evening, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Sheriff: Deputy fatally shoots man raising rifle on U.S. 54 in Butler County."