Keith Lamont Scott was given "loud, clear verbal commands" to not leave his vehicle and to drop his weapon before he was fatally shot by police officers on Tuesday evening, police in Charlotte, N.C., say, ABC News reports.
Police are insisting that the 43-year-old father was armed with a gun, although it is not clear whether Scott pointed the weapon at officers. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Kerr Putney told reporters at a news conference Wednesday that Scott was holding a handgun, which was recovered at the scene, and was a threat because he was not obeying orders from officers.
"The officers gave loud, clear verbal commands which were also heard by many of the witnesses," Putney said. "Mr. Scott exited his vehicle armed with a handgun as the officers continued to yell at him to drop it."
An officer then, Putney said, fired his weapon, hitting Scott, who was pronounced dead.
"I don't know that he definitively pointed the weapon specifically towards an officer," the police chief added.
According to KTLA, the shooting officer, Brentley Vinson, was not wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.
Despite police reports, Scott's family is standing firm, saying that he was not armed and was merely reading a book while waiting for his son to be dropped off from school.