OKLAHOMA CITY – An 83-year-old Oklahoma City man was shot and killed after swinging a machete at police.

The deadly officer-involved shooting took place Sunday night near S.E. 89th and Harrah Rd.

Banging on the walls of a neighbor’s home with a large machete, Richard Weaver allegedly began threatening his neighbor who responded by calling police.

“He came at the house with a machete and then the police came out and he went after the police with that machete,” said Gerald Peeler, a neighbor.

Peeler says prior to police being called to the rural neighborhood, Weaver appeared to have been losing his mind.

“The last time I talked to him I knew something was mentally wrong with him,” said Peeler.

Gerald’s neighbor says the first officer on scene confronted the suspect and ordered him to drop the weapon, but the 83-year-old refused.

“She heard police tell him to put it down three times and he wouldn’t do it. He just kept coming at him with that machete,” said Peeler.

“Officers are trained to defend themselves when they feel threatened and a person raising a large machete is quite threatening,” said Capt. Paco Balderrama, with the Oklahoma City Police Department.

Police say long before the deadly confrontation, officers had been called to the suspect’s home at least twice for similar threats in recent weeks.

An online search of court records shows just this month, Weaver tried to plead guilty to an assault and battery charge.

However, the judge refused because Weaver didn’t appear to understand what was going on.

“He was losing it. He had mental problems,” said Peeler.

Weaver’s mental state is why several neighbors agree the suspect left police with little choice but to pull the trigger.

This marks the fifth officer- involved shooting in Oklahoma City this year.

Four of those have been fatal.

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