Don't bring a shoe to a gunfight

Federal agents shot and killed a fugitive from south Florida [in DeKalb Co, GA] early Wednesday when he refused to put down what they thought was a gun, but turned out to be a shoe.

Agents from the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force went to the Hillandale Park apartments near Lithonia about 4 a.m. to arrest 24-year-old Youwus Vilpre, said Richard Mecum, U.S. Marshal for North Georgia.

Agents heard shots fired inside the apartment, Mecum said, and Vilpre eventually came out with “something in his hand and he pointed it at them.”

Agents told Vilpie several times to put his hand down, and when he refused, three members of the task force - a U.S. marshal, an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an agent from the Department of Housing and Urban Development - shot at Vilpre, killing him.

After the shooting, agents discovered that Vilpre had put his hand down inside a shoe and was pointing the shoe at the officers.

Mike Morris, Atlanta J-C, 10/25/2006

This wouldn't make a believable police show episode. The writer would probably be terminated.

This is something like the 13th bad guy killed by authorities in DeKalb Co., GA (population 700K) this year (more than LAPD or NYPD), but it wasn't by the DeKalb Police this time.