DAYTON — Felony charges have been approved for a man who was shot by police after the city’s police chief said he pointed a gun at officers.
Shawn Keirns, 49, faces two counts of felonious assault, a single count of grand theft and several gun charges, according to municipal court records. Keirns is not in jail and Miami Valley Hospital could not say whether he was still a patient at their facility.
>> Dayton police identify man shot by police; suspect pointed gun toward officers, chief says
Keirns was taken to the hospital after two Dayton police officers shot him multiple times on Wayne Avenue last week, following a string of crimes he’s accused of committing.
The incident began with a call for officers to check on a 49-year-old man who was waving at passing vehicles near the 1700 block of Wayne Avenue around 4 a.m., Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl said.
A second call came in, where a 911 caller accused the man, later identified as Keirns, of stealing a 9mm handgun off his passenger seat.
“I had my firearm sitting on the passenger seat and he grabbed my gun. He ran off and he is firing,” a second 911 caller said. “I don’t know where he went, but I can hear the shots.”
One of the seven shots Keirns is accused of firing after allegedly stealing the gun hit a driver passing through the area, Biehl said.
Two sets of cruiser camera footage show Keirns appear to point a gun in the direction of at least one Dayton police officer, before the two officers fire their weapons, striking the 49-year-old.
Keirns was not allowed to have a gun due to a previous felony conviction of assault on a police officer in 2006.
Biehl said the officers involved in the shooting “used good judgment.”
Cox Media Group
