CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A man wanted in connection with a violent armed robbery was shot and killed by a Charleston SWAT team member Thursday afternoon.
Disnime Mitchell, 23, of Charleston, refused to drop his gun when he came out of the Dollar General Store on West Washington Street, according to Charleston Police Chief of Detectives Lt. Tony Hazelett.
“When he exited the Dollar General, members of the SWAT team identified themselves as police and the suspect pulled a gun and pointed at our SWAT members, and a SWAT officer fired one round striking him in the chest and killing him,” said Hazelett.
Hazelett said Mitchell was wanted on First Degree Robbery charges after he, along with four other suspects, were involved in a shooting and robbery in the 1300 block of Grant Street on Feb. 23 that left one victim, identified as Ibin Harper, 25, in critical condition.
Hazelett said the Charleston Police Department Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) were looking Mitchell and another suspect Thursday when an undercover officer noticed Mitchell enter the Dollar General on West Washington.
A perimeter was set up by undercover officers and members of the SWAT team, and they confronted Mitchell when he was exiting the store.
Hazelett said the officers identified themselves several times and attempted to stop him, but Mitchell refused to drop his gun.
He said SWAT officers and medics quickly rendered aid at the scene, and Mitchell was transported to a local hospital where he was officially pronounced dead.
Hazelett said officers gave him multiple chances to surrender, and they just did what they had to do.
“We had to have multiple witnesses in the area, I mean the store was open for business, and you know, they said they yelled police multiple times giving him an opportunity to drop the weapon, which he did not do and we had to fire upon him,” he said.
And he said this all went down in a very public place.
“We had to take into account to protect the passerby’s of vehicles, the customers leaving Dollar General, like I said, we gave commands multiple times, so we figured we had to take the shot and eliminate the threat,” he said.
The investigation had revealed several suspects. Another that has already been taken into custody was identified as Donovan Brown.
“During this investigation, we deemed all suspects armed and dangerous, I mean, the victim was left in critical condition, shot multiple times and robbed,” Hazelett said.
Hazelett said police continue to look for a remaining suspect.