Police Officer Shoots Elderly Man Dead While Serving Emergency Custody Order in Norfolk

A 72-year-old man has been shot dead by a Norfolk police officer at an assisted living facility in the city.

Norfolk police said they responded to Calvary Towers on E. Virginia Beach Blvd. around 3 p.m. on Wednesday to serve an emergency custody order on a resident, reported WAVY.com.

Police said the man threatened an officer with a knife, forcing the officer to fire on him.

The injured man was taken by ambulance to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he died, WAVY reported. The officer was not hurt.

The man who was shot dead was later identified as 72-year-old Lawrence H. Faine. Police would not give a comment on the man’s mental state, but residents of the building told WAVY he was unstable.

A police spokesman said a magistrate or a judge issues an emergency order to place a person in custody for either that person’s safety or the safety of another person.

Some residents questioned if the shooting at Calvary Towers was justified given the age and mental state of the man who was shot.

In May, 2013, the shooting of Joshua “Omar” Johnson by Norfolk police outside a Wells Fargo bank on 21st Street in Norfolk provoked an outcry.

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