Police shoot armed man in Wilmington

Police are continuing to investigate the shooting death of a man in a wheelchair at the hands of city police at Tulip and South Scott streets in Wilmington on Wednesday.

Officers were called to the scene after a report of a man in a wheelchair with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Sgt. Andrea Janvier said.

The man was found armed with a handgun upon arrival, but Janvier said the circumstances of the shooting are under investigation. Further details are expected to be released Thursday.

The man died at the scene, Janvier said. An upright wheelchair remained near the white sheet covering his body hours after the shooting.

Police Chief Bobby Cummings was on the scene and spoke to family and friends who were visibly distraught, many of whom shouted at him for answers to their loved one's death.

There were a few tense moments when the victim's family members came to the intersection of Tulip and Scott streets upset and angry following the shooting, with some in the group yelling at police. At one point, about six family members crossed the police tape before officers stopped them from going any further.

Family members also charged a man standing near the corner who laughed as the group yelled. Several offices stood between the crowd and the man. The man ended up leaving after an officer asked him to leave the scene.

Cell phone video taken at the shooting scene shows multiple Wilmington police officers with guns drawn telling him to raise his hands into the air. One shot sounds, but it's unclear whether the man was hit, as the camera moves away.

The video could not immediately be verified as capturing Wednesday's shooting but the setting, near garages off Tulip Street and in front of a grey Mercedes, appears to match the scene where the police investigation was centered.

Police continue to advance in the video, repeatedly shouting at the man to raise his hands in the air. He appears to physically move his legs and adjust himself in the chair, before reaching into his pocket.

Multiple shots then ring out, striking the man before he slumps over and falls out of the wheelchair.

No one was arrested.

Yellow police tape had roads closed surrounding the AutoZone located at Lancaster Avenue and Scott Street.

Alexis Anthony identified the man as her cousin, Jeremy "Bam" McDowell, 28, and said he was shot by officers five times. Other relatives on Thursday corrected the spelling of his last name to McDole.

Anthony said police officers on scene told her he was trying to commit suicide and refused to drop the weapon he was going to use. Anthony, who lives on the corner of Tulip and South Scott streets, then heard five gunshots and ran outside.

"They couldn't [use a Taser on] him?" Anthony asked. "Instead, they killed him instead. They could have knocked him out of his wheelchair."

McDole had been in a wheelchair since being shot and paralyzed when he was 18, Anthony said.

This is the second officer-involved shooting in Wilmington this year.

Another officer-involved shooting earlier this year left Marvin T. Jones paralyzed. The 24-year-old Georgia man was shot during a traffic stop on Vandever Avenue on Jan. 15.

The officers were cleared of any wrongdoing in July following an investigation by Attorney General Matt Denn's office.

That shooting was shrouded in confusion as police initially said that Jones had fired at least twice before officers returned fire. But the next day, police walked back the description of the incident to say that he was shot during a struggle with officers.

The incident drew attention from the state NAACP, whose president requested a special prosecutor be appointed to impartially investigate the incident.

Wednesday's incident marks the city's 103rd shooting victim and 21st homicide by gunfire so far this year.

Last month a Dover man was shot in the upper thigh by a Dover police officer after he allegedly pointed a weapon at the member of the street crimes unit. The man was later charged with illegally carrying a weapon.

Staff Writers Esteban Parra and Jenna Pizzi contributed to this report. Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.