LEROY, N.Y. -- A man is in police custody and faces multiple charges after police said he shot and killed a man then intentionally set his own house on fire. As first responders arrived on scene, police said the suspect shot at them.
Law enforcement officials said the LeRoy fire chief and a village of LeRoy officer were shaken up after the homicide suspect, Kyle Johnson, 53 shot at both of them as they were responding to the fire. While they and they vehicles didn't get hit, they said bullets came within 200 feet of them.
Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha said they immediately backed off, until more first responders arrived and kept him contained around his home. They said Johnson was asked repeatedly to drop his 12 gauge shotgun, but he refused. He continued to pace back and forth around his home and on the road.
In addition to charging the armored vehicle, at one point they say he even approached the officers asking them to shoot him. Finally after lying down his gun just before 8 a.m., the SWAT team rushed him.
"He's pretty shook up. When he got out of the vehicle, heard the shots, looked up to left and though what he saw was the wad from the shotgun [shell] going by his head and took cover. I'll just echo what the sheriff said, the officers on that scene acted with great restraint and officer Young especially did a great job," said LeRoy Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Tom Wood.
That restraint the assistant fire chiefs mentions, is what likely saved additional lives.