Police fatally shoot armed man suspected of stealing truck

TULARE, Calif. (AP) — An armed man suspected of stealing a pickup truck from a business in central California was fatally shot Thursday by police officers and sheriff’s deputies after he failed to follow officials’ commands, authorities said.

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that the truck was stolen from a business in Tulare and spotted by deputies about an hour later in an orchard.

Deputies tried to contact a 38-year-old man inside the truck but he did not follow their commands, the office said.

Officers with the Tulare Police Department arrived at the scene to help and together with the deputies tried to get the man to comply for about 30 minutes. Deputies deployed a taser but it didn’t work, authorities said.

The man then pulled out a gun and pointed it at officers and deputies who fired their weapons, striking him several times, they said.

Deputies performed CPR but the man died at the scene, officials said.

Authorities did not release the man’s name or any other information.

The office said the Visalia Police Department is conducting the fatal shooting investigation.