Pingelly shooting: Investigators to probe shooting after man allegedly ran at an officer with multiple knives

A man has been shot by police at a home in WA’s Wheatbelt after running at an officer armed with multiple knives. The confronting altercation happened about 4.15am on Sunday at a house in the town of Pingelly after family members requested police assistance concerned with the behaviour of a 20-year-old Indigenous man who was acting in an “aggressive and erratic manner”. Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams said the man immediately ran at the single responding officer with two knives. “Upon arrival the 20-year-old from the particular address that they had attended, ran from the address with knives towards police who spoke to him to stop,” he said. The officer deployed a taser on the man which was ineffective, Mr Adams said. From about one metre away, the officer was forced to fire a single shot that hit the man in his torso. Mr Adams said the officer then started performing life-saving first aid. The man is in stable condition at Royal Perth Hospital. It is understood at least one family member witnessed the incident. Mr Adams said he was “extremely thankful” for that officer’s training came to forefront during the confrontation. He also said a body worn camera had captured the incident. “I know that with any incident of this nature there’s significant support put around the police officer but also the family that has been impacted by this event and those systems are in place,” he said. The Great Southern Police District will meet with local community leaders to address the situation and offer any support needed. Mr Adams said police officers around the State never intend on using their firearm but go to work prepared for the unexpected. “The reality of modern day policing is that the guys and girls at the front end of policing in the vans driving around are turning up to tasks with good information but not full information,” he said. “They’re knocking on a lot of doors or entering a number of yards, not knowing what the outcome is going to be. That takes (a) significant amount of courage. “And it takes a whole heap of training and responsibility of those individual officers. And I strongly believe that the officer in this instance have executed that standard really well.” A neighbour said she was watching the Commonwealth Games early on Sunday morning when she heard a gun shot. “It was loud - I thought it was in my backyard,” the woman said. She said she hoped the man was OK. The West Australian can reveal members of the WA Police Union have already gone to the scene, about 158 kilometres south-east of Perth, to offer support. A union spokesman confirmed president Mick Kelly and senior vice president Paul Gale travelled to the scene as soon as they were notified of the incident. Investigations into the shooting are ongoing and the Police Internal Affairs Unit has launched a separate inquiry.