The Mecklenburg County (N.C.) District Attorney's Office said Dec. 14 that two police officers who shot and killed an armed hospital patient in Huntersville, N.C., in September were legally justified in doing so, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Police were called to Novant Health Huntersville (N.C.) Medical Center Sept. 10 after reports of multiple shots fired inside the facility. When police arrived, they encountered 76-year-old Joseph Charles Cook, a hospital patient who was traveling from Florida to New York to escape Hurricane Irma.
Mr. Cook allegedly aimed his gun at responding police. Two officers, Travis Watts and Michael Joseph, both opened fire, killing Mr. Cook, according to the report.
"In this case, the officers were responding to an active shooter in a hospital," Spencer Merriweather, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney, wrote to Huntersville police chief Cleveland Spruill. "When they encountered the subject, Cook pointed a gun at a police officer. Under these circumstances, I have determined that these officers acted within the bounds of the law, and no charges will be sought against them."
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