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Liberty Township man shot, killed after aiming gun at SWAT officers

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Posted at 10:11 AM, Jan 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-12 13:27:11-05

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A domestic disturbance call in Liberty Township ended in the deployment of a SWAT team and the death of the suspect, 31-year-old Junius Thomas, Monday afternoon.

According to Butler County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Peters, a woman called 911 shortly after 5 p.m. and complained that Thomas had kicked in the door of her Yoakum Court home. She fled; Thomas remained inside and armed.

Deputies who visited the home described Thomas as “extremely agitated,” according to Peters, and summoned SWAT.

Thomas refused to leave the home after multiple hours of negotiation with SWAT officers. After over an hour of silence, SWAT breached the home with a robot.

Thomas came to the doorway and aimed a gun at officers, Peters wrote. A SWAT officer shot him in response.

He died at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office and the office of Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser.