HARRISONBURG - A Harrisonburg Police Officer is back at work after a fatal shooting occurred last week at a local restaurant.
A man came into a Harrisonburg Chili's on East Market Street on the afternoon of June 22, with a knife threatening customers.
According to Harrisonburg officials, when police arrived, they encountered a white male, who did not appear to be a customer. According to officials, the man entered the restaurant and brandished a knife, threatening customers.
After repeated attempts to get the man to drop the weapon, the man charged police and a Harrisonburg Police Officer shot and killed the man.
The male, Thomas Albun Beall, Jr., 31, of Broadway, was taken to Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital, where he has since been pronounced dead.
The officer and incident were investigated by members of Harrisonburg Police Department's Major Crimes Unit in conjunction with the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
According to the Marsha Garst, Commonwealth's Attorney of Rockingham County and the City of Harrisonburg, no criminal charges will be placed on the officer involved.
"After an extensive review of all the evidence and the investigation surrounding the police shooting at Chili's Restaurant that occurred on June 22, 2018, of Thomas Beall Jr. I have determined that no criminal charges will be placed against the officer involved and the use of force was justified in this instance," Garst said in a release.
According to Garst, Beall was armed with a large knife. The officer repeatedly advised Beall to drop the knife and let the customers that he cornered leave the Chili's restaurant.
Beall refused to drop the weapon or move away from the customers, Garst said. The officer then used a Taser, but Beall was still advancing towards the officer.
"The officer used deadly force to protect himself and the customers," Garst said in a release.
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