FLOYD, Iowa (AP) — A northeast Iowa prosecutor says the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis man by officers was justified. Twenty-nine-year-old Jihad Merrick was killed the night of Jan. 17 alongside U.S. Highway 218 in Bremer County. Merrick’s car was stopped for speeding after he’d been reported pointing a gun at his own head at a Floyd truck stop. Deputies say that after the stop he got in and out of his vehicle with a handgun to his head.

Officers approached his car after he fired a shot inside it and then struggled to remove him. He was able to put the car in gear and accelerate. An officer fearful of being run over yelled for other officers to shoot, and two of them did. County Attorney Kasey Wedding said in a news release Tuesday the shooting was justified because of the threat Merrick posed.