Square-Off With Police Sharpshooters Fatal For Foreclosed Phoenix Homeowner

In Phoenix, Arizona, The Arizona Republic reports:

• As officers closed in, Kurt Aho drank his beer, ignoring commands to drop his gun. Before police arrived he told neighbors he refused to surrender himself or the home he lived in for nearly 30 years. Faced with foreclosure and stacks of medical bills to treat a recurring battle with cancer, the 64-year-old squared off Tuesday against a team of Phoenix police sharpshooters moments after he shot out the tires of two trucks parked on his cul-de-sac near Bell Road and 31st Avenue.

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• Jeffrey Hobson said he shared a final beer with Aho moments before the confrontation. He said he worried when Aho told him he wanted to die. “He said, ‘When the cops get here either I'm gonna die by them or I'm gonna kill myself,'” said Hobson. “They gave him exactly what he wanted.”

For more, see Foreclosure may have sparked fatal clash with police. DeputyEvictionTheta