GREENWOOD, Del. - A Delaware State Police trooper shot a 60-year-old man Wednesday afternoon during a standoff while troopers tried to serve a search warrant in Greenwood.
The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m. March 11 in the 11000 block of Wheatfield Road as Delaware State Police units, including the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit, Troop 4 Criminal Investigations Unit and Special Operations Response Team, went to arrest Jeffrey Mitchem.
Earlier that day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Threat Operations Center alerted state police about threatening online posts made by Mitchem. According to DSP, Mitchem also sent a photo of himself holding what appeared to be a black handgun to a state police SOAR detective, along with an image of a coffin.
Mitchem was also wanted by Arlington County Police in Virginia on a felony terroristic threatening charge.
The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m. March 11 in the 11000 block of Wheatfield Road as Delaware State Police units, including the Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit, Troop 4 Criminal Investigations Unit and Special Operations Response Team, went to arrest Jeffrey Mitchem. (DSP)
DSP said that when the troopers arrived at the property, Mitchem barricaded himself inside a camper and refused to surrender. The Delaware State Police Crisis Management Team began communicating with him, but investigators said he repeatedly refused commands to come out and claimed he had a large amount of gunpowder and was holding a trigger to detonate it.
Detectives said Mitchem was seen spreading what appeared to be a powdery substance inside the camper. When he stepped outside the door, one of his hands remained hidden from view, which investigators said supported his threats.
During the confrontation, a trooper fired a single shot that struck Mitchem in the arm.
After being shot, Mitchem threw a handgun out of the camper, exited and surrendered, according to DSP. Troopers provided first aid until emergency medical crews arrived. Mitchem was taken to the hospital and remains in the hospital with serious injuries.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is investigating the shooting, which is standard procedure for officer-involved shootings.
Preliminary findings show the handgun Mitchem threw from the camper was an airsoft pistol designed to resemble a Walther PPS M2 gun. Detectives also found a 6.5-inch wooden-handled hunting-style knife on a shelf near the camper entrance where Mitchem had been standing before surrendering.
Investigators said Mitchem is prohibited from possessing a deadly weapon due to previous felony convictions. The Delaware State Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit later confirmed the powdery substance inside the camper was not explosive material.
Mitchem faces the following charges:
Possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited (felony)
Intent to threaten the life of or threaten severe physical harm to a public official or public servant (felony) — 19 counts
Resisting arrest
Mitchem was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Delaware Department of Correction on a $43,000 secured bond.
The trooper who fired the shot has been placed on administrative leave while a use-of-force investigation continues in collaboration with the Delaware Department of Justice Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust, said DSP.
Detectives ask anyone with information to contact Detective M. Csapo at 302-741-2729. Information can also be shared through a private Facebook message to Delaware State Police or by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 800-847-3333.