The emergency department entrance for CAMC General Hospital, on the northeast corner of Brooks and Washington streets in Charleston, is shown on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.
The emergency department entrance for CAMC General Hospital, on the northeast corner of Brooks and Washington streets in Charleston, is shown on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.
CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE | Gazette-Mail
A Charleston Police Department officer fatally shot a man at Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital early Friday morning. The man had been released from prison on July 30.
According to CPD Chief Scott Dempsey, a man, later identified as Peter Delnardo Lilly, 46, of Charleston, arrived at the CAMC General emergency room just after midnight to be seen for an unknown injury. He began acting erratically by locking himself in a bathroom, spraying a fire extinguisher and threatening staff and bystanders in the ER.
CAMC employees attempted to de-escalate the situation, but the police were called around 1:40 a.m. when Lilly pulled out a knife.
When police arrived, officers ordered him to drop his weapon. He ducked into an elevator that had just opened and began attacking an employee who was in the elevator. Dempsey said the employee was uninjured.
At that time, a CPD officer fired at Lilly and hit him. Officers present attempted first aid, but he died from his injuries.
"This is a very unfortunate situation. Police officers never want to have to take this action, of course, but we are prepared to do that to protect life, and I believe that's what happened here," Dempsey said. "Our officers' actions were quick and deliberate, and they knew what they had to do, and I believe they saved lives today."
According to court records, Lilly pleaded guilty in 2023 to the felony charge of unlawful wounding and was sentenced to one to five years in a state correctional facility.Â
According to a statement from a CAMC spokesperson, patients and ambulances were diverted to other hospitals, and the emergency room was locked down for about two hours.
Like with all officer-involved shootings, the investigation report will be forwarded to the Kanawha County Prosecutor's Office which decides when to bring charges in homicides. The officer has been placed on paid critical incident leave.
This is the fifth reported homicide in Charleston this year, the eighth in Kanawha County, and the second one Friday.
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