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Jefferson man shot by police succumbs

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A Jefferson Township man who was shot by state troopers last week after he charged at them with a large knife has died.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said Steven Garrett Ward, 20, died about 10 p.m. Thursday in Allegheny General Hospital.

Ward’s stepmother called troopers to the family home at 357 Bethel Ridge Road in the early morning Dec. 7.

Jodi Burns-Ward told police her son was “flipping out” and fighting with family members and had grabbed a shotgun, but his father, Charles Ward, had taken it away from him, Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone said in a statement Monday declaring the actions of the troopers involved were justified.

Steven Ward, who lived in a camper on the property, had been at his grandmother’s at 361 Bethel Ridge earlier that night, where he’d been drinking. His stepsister, who also lived there, told police he was “not acting right” and she had called Charles Ward to ask him to get his son out of his house.

Ward then bit his father in the chest during a scuffle, pushed his grandmother onto a couch and fell down the basement steps when his stepsister shoved him in an attempt to get away from him, police said. The stepsister, a friend and Ward’s grandmother fled to their relatives’ home next door, police said.

According to police, Ward then appeared with a shotgun and said he wanted to kill himself but couldn’t find any shells.

In a call to state police that night, Burns-Ward said she thought her stepson would harm himself and that he wanted police to shoot him – a fear relayed to troopers who were responding.

Witnesses told investigators Ward rushed at troopers when they arrived, ignoring demands from Cpl. Fred Scott and Ward’s father to drop the rusty Bowie-style knife he was holding.

Scott and another trooper each fired a single shot when Ward continued charging at them. Ward was wounded in the arm and side. He was taken to Weirton (W.Va.) Medical Center and later to Allegheny General.

Ward was charged that day with six counts of aggravated assault, three counts each of reckless endangerment and harassment and one count of simple assault.

Vittone said Monday Ward’s failure to obey commands from troopers “and approaching the police with a deadly weapon in his hand justified the need of the police to use deadly force to protect themselves and others.”

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