Police: Man fatally shot by Waterloo officers was holding pellet gun

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A man who was shot and killed by Waterloo officers over the weekend was holding a realistic-looking pellet gun during the confrontation, police said Monday.

Michael Ahrens, 32, died at an Iowa City hospital after being shot by police in Waterloo on Saturday afternoon, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation reported. Investigators said the incident began when Waterloo police responded to reports of a man waving a gun around at an ice cream shop and encountered what appeared to be an armed man walking along a road.

Police said the man, later identified as Ahrens, refused orders to drop the gun and was shot with a bean bag round to try to subdue him. He then pointed the gun he was holding at officers, who shot him, investigators said. Ahrens was shot twice, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said in a release Monday, and was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to the Iowa City hospital, where he died.

The weapon Ahrens was holding turned out to be an air-soft gun designed to look like real pistol, authorities said.

The Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting.