Police officer fatally shot wheelchair-bound one-armed, one-legged man 'armed' with a pen

A schizophrenic double amputee waving a pen from his wheelchair was fatally shot early on Saturday by a Houston, Texas, police officer, authorities said. Police were called to the personal care home at around 2 a.m. because resident Brian Claunch had become agitated after his caretaker refused to give him a soda and a cigarette, said John Garcia, the owner of the home.

"He was approaching them aggressively," said Houston Police Department spokes­woman Jodi Silva. "He was attempting to stab them with what is now found to be a pen." Claunch, who had been living at the home for the past 18 months with two other men, ignored officers' commands and made threats against them and other occupants of the home, Garcia said the caretaker told him.

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Claunch trapped one of the officers in a corner, authorities said. Matthew Marin, a five-year HPD veteran, fired his weapon at least one time, fearing for his partner's safety and his own, Silva said. Claunch died at the scene. Claunch, who was in his mid-forties, lost his right leg to just above the knee and all of his right arm when he was hit by a train. He arrived at the personal care home more than a year ago, as part of a placement by the Harris County guardianship program.

Garcia said Claunch liked to "doodle" and two days ago he had given him a black felt pen to draw with. Garcia said he was not sure if it was that pen or another one that Claunch was waving at the time of the incident. As is standard practice with officer-involved shootings, Marin, who is assigned to the South Central Patrol Division, will work three days of desk duty. The incident will be investigated by HPD's homicide and internal affairs divisions, as well as the Harris County District Attorney's Office.