We are releasing additional information regarding an officer-involved shooting Tuesday at the Manheim Township police station.
First off, the autopsy on the deceased male is scheduled for Friday. We will not have the official determination as to cause and manner of death until the autopsy is performed by the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office.
The deceased male is identified as 65-year-old John R. Simson, of East Petersburg. Proper notifications have been made to his family.
As part of the investigation, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office will make a determination on the police use of force. We are not at that point yet, so we are not elaborating on Mr. Simson’s motive for going to the police station armed, engaging police, and firing shots.
However, of note, Mr. Simson was recently charged by Manheim Township police and turned himself in, with his attorney, on May 4. He was charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse of a child, indecent assault of a child (three counts), unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of a minor. That investigation involved an admission to the police to the alleged criminal conduct.
Also on May 4, Mr. Simson was arraigned on the charges. Bail was set at $50,000, which Mr. Simson posted via a bondsman.
Since the Tuesday afternoon incident, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with Manheim Township police, have interviewed numerous individuals, including witnesses to the incident (to include police officers and civilian witnesses); reviewed surveillance-video footage; and collected/documented physical evidence, including processing the scene, and other information, as a team of Lancaster County Detectives responded to the scene at the Manheim Township police station to conduct this investigation.
As stated previously, Mr. Simson fired at least twice with police officers also present on the grounds and visible to Mr. Simson. Police made repeated commands to Mr. Simson before the officer fired the single shot.
The investigation has revealed Mr. Simson fired at least two shots, including one at himself, during the series of events at the police station, which spanned a couple minutes.
Again, I will provide additional information/developments in the case, as deemed appropriate. Keep in mind, the autopsy is Friday, so I do not expect much more to be publicly released in that interim period.
Information released Tuesday:
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, in conjunction with the Manheim Township Police Department, is investigating an incident Tuesday at the Manheim Township police station that involved the death of an adult male.
The investigation is in its preliminary stage, and at this point, this is what it has shown:
The adult male, now deceased, arrived at the police station just before 3 p.m. He was armed with a shotgun and discharged it at least twice. In response, one officer engaged the male and fired upon the male. The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office will perform an autopsy which will be used to determine caused and manner of death.
Our office will make an eventual determination on police use of force.
No police officers were wounded or injured. The deceased is an adult male from Lancaster County. At this point, we are releasing nothing further about him, in part so that proper notifications can be made to his family members.