HARMONY (AP) – A 21-year-old Harmony man who recently attempted suicide was shot and killed by police along a rural road early Saturday after he pointed a shotgun in their direction, authorities said.

Two Somerset County sheriff’s deputies and a state trooper responded to a call from Daniel McDowell, who claimed that he had killed a person and kidnapped two others, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

The officers who arrived at the South Road at about 1:30 a.m. found McDowell armed with a shotgun while standing near his vehicle, McCausland said. He said that when he pointed the gun toward the officers, all three of them fired their weapons.

“The officers arrived and the fatal shots occurred within minutes,” the spokesman said. No other victims were found.

McCausland quoted Somerset County officials as saying they had been called to McDowell’s home earlier this year in response to a suicide attempt by means of a drug overdose.

The officers, who were not injured during the roadside confrontation, were identified as Deputies Michael Ross and Ritchie Putnam and Trooper Bernard Brunette. They were placed on administrative leave with pay pending an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, which is standard procedure in cases involving use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.

McDowell’s body was transported to the state Medical Examiner’s Office, which will notify investigators how many times the man was shot.

AP-ES-02-16-08 1606EST

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