Mentally Ill Man With Gun Is Shot and Killed by Police

After her family heard the first gunshot, her 13-year-old brother walked outside to see what was going on and was told by a neighbor to go back inside, where he watched from a front window, she said. He saw Pierson holding a silver gun with a black handle. Two officers stood behind a neighbor's van and another was behind McGuire's car, telling Pierson to surrender, she said.

"He told them, ' You come out with your hands up,' " McGuire said. "He was just cursing and talking gibberish."

The four officers involved in the shooting will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Deane said. The officers had been on duty since midnight and were just finishing up their shift when they responded to the call. When they fired, they believed they were protecting their lives, Deane said.

"It presented a clear danger to them," he said. "It could have easily turned the other way."

Prince William Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert said that although the investigation is not complete, "the shooting appears to be justified."

Pierson fired two shots before officers arrived, authorities said. A gaping hole could be seen on the rear door of his white car parked in the driveway. Another hole pocked the side of a neighbor's house, but it was unclear whether it was caused by his gun or those of the officers.

Pierson's mail carrier, Robert Booth, said the two talked daily, with Pierson always waiting for him in that chair when he arrived in the afternoon.

Pierson gave him a Bible just last week, Booth said.

"I genuinely liked him, but I knew he was disturbed," Booth said. "Some of the things he said were moral and just. But you'd come back on another day and it was just the opposite."