Updated at 10:01 p.m.
RUTLAND — A Rutland City police officer fatally shot a man inside a McDonald’s restaurant on Route 7 on Wednesday, according to Vermont State Police.
State police are not releasing the identity of the man killed — other than to say he was 33 years old — until they have more information and have notified next of kin.
While police have released some details about the afternoon shooting, they have not disclosed whether the man who was fatally shot had been armed nor information about what took place inside the McDonald’s.
Maj. Dan Trudeau, head of the state police criminal division, said Wednesday night from the Rutland City Police Department station that investigators were still trying to answer those questions themselves.
The shooting by the police officer took place a little before 3 p.m. inside the McDonald’s restaurant, located at the intersection of Route 7 and Allen Street, Trudeau said.
Prior to the shooting, according to the major, a motor vehicle crash between a car and a UPS delivery truck took place at that intersection.
The driver of the car that struck the UPS truck fled the scene and ran into McDonald’s, Trudeau said, and the first officer on the scene was a Rutland City police officer.
Other officers got there shortly after the shooting took place, he said.
Even though the restaurant was open, finding witnesses who actually saw what took place has not been easy, Trudeau said.
“I think people saw him run toward the building, and they all skedaddled out the back,” he said.
The circumstances leading up to the crash are still under investigation.
The driver had been fleeing from a traffic stop by a Rutland County Sheriff’s Department deputy in Wallingford, though Trudeau stopped short of saying that a pursuit ensued.
“That’s what we’re trying to piece together,” the major said. “I think there were short spurts. They would see him, and then he would take off.”
“I think there were just a lot of officers all over the place waiting for him to come out,” he said.
The body of the man who was killed will be taken to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death.
No other injuries were reported.
Troopers, as part of the investigation, will be interviewing witnesses, reviewing any available video and audio, and processing the crime scene, according to state police.
Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said Wednesday evening there was little he could say about the shooting as it is headed by state police, which is standard practice in police shootings.
Kilcullen did say the city officer, whom he did not name, has been placed on leave, a standard practice in police shootings.
Police typically release the name of the officer 24 hours after a shooting.
Dan Johnson, 32, of Rutland, said he was driving Wednesday afternoon on Route 7 approaching the Allen Street intersection when he heard the crash.
“It was loud. I thought it was someone behind me,” he said of the crash. “That car was just history. The passenger side was gone.”
“That’s the worst wreck I’ve ever seen,” Johnson said.
Officers arrived within seconds, Johnson said, and they appeared to be positioned ahead of time.
“They were swarming the scene,” he said of the police.
Johnson said he did not witness anyone fleeing the scene or what took place inside the McDonald’s.
Later Wednesday afternoon, state police had the McDonald’s, which closed, surrounded with yellow crime scene tape, with the tape stretching to block off the intersection of Allen Street and Route 7 as well.
Around 6:15 p.m., a vehicle with a smashed front-end and Florida license plates was towed from the intersection. Shortly after, the UPS truck, with damage to its rear, was also towed away.
Several Vermont state troopers were also on the scene, and a large Vermont State Police Major Crime Unit vehicle was parked near an entrance to the restaurant.
The McDonald’s is located directly across Route 7 from the Vermont State Fairgrounds, which hosted the state fair last week.
When the investigation is complete, the Vermont State Police will turn over the case to the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the State’s Attorney’s Office for independent reviews of the police officer’s use of deadly force.
