JUST IN: Identity of man killed in standoff with Alexandria police revealed

5101 Maris Avenue, where APD shot and killed an armed man (Image via Google Maps)

Alexandria police identified 61-year-old Paul G. Behan Jr. as the man shot and killed by a police officer Monday evening (August 12).

Behan was shot and killed by a police officer after a 35-minute standoff in the stairwell of his apartment building at 5101 Maris Avenue. One of Behan's colleagues called 911 around 10:45 p.m. to warn that he had threatened to shoot himself and told police that Behan had at least two guns.

Behan has been a radiographer and laboratory technician for over 30 years and has worked at a DC facility for the past decade, according to his LinkedIn page.

Acting Police Chief Raul Pedroso said officers responded within three minutes of the call. At 11 p.m., officers reported that Behan was standing in the stairwell of his building pointing a rifle at his own head.

“The man exited his residence with a gun in his hand,” Pedroso told reporters Wednesday. “Officers negotiated with the armed man for more than 35 minutes, attempting to de-escalate the situation the entire time. During the negotiations, officers pleaded with the man multiple times to drop his weapon. In response to a threatening behavior, an APD officer fired his service weapon at approximately 11:21 p.m., striking the man.”

Behan died at the scene of the accident.

The officer who killed him has been with the APD for nine years and has been placed on leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The officer's identity has not been released.

On Wednesday afternoon, the day after the shooting, the door to the apartment building was open. The carpet on the first floor of the stairwell had recently been cut away, but otherwise there were no visible signs that an incident had occurred.

Pedroso said officers at the scene wore body-worn cameras and that the footage would be reviewed by APD's Critical Response Team as well as in an internal administrative investigation overseen by the Alexandria Policing Auditor.

Reporter James Cullum has been covering Northern Virginia for nearly 20 years. He started working with ALXnow in 2020 and has covered every story imaginable for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His reporting includes stories from domestic and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He has also covered protests and unrest across the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), as well as earthquake-stricken Haiti, the Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.