Waldo County sheriff’s sergeant fatally shoots Belfast man

A member of the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office fatally shot on Monday afternoon a Belfast man who allegedly charged at police with a gas canister that was on fire.

The shooting happened after the man, 65-year-old Daniel Ryan, allegedly called police around 1:30 p.m. and told them he was going to burn down his apartment building at 63 Cedar St. if officers didn’t respond, according to a press release from the sheriff’s office and the Belfast Police Department.

The man continued to threaten to burn the building down after members of the police department and sheriff’s office arrived, and when they entered his apartment, he allegedly ran at them with the flaming gas canister.

That’s when Sgt. Nicholas Oettinger shot and killed Ryan, police said. Oettinger is now on administrative leave while the Office of the Maine Attorney General investigates the case, as is standard procedure following police shootings.

No additional information was available Monday night.

BDN writer Sasha Ray contributed reporting.