The 21-year-old Milford man who was fatally shot by a Dewey Beach Police Department officer early Saturday morning near The Starboard restaurant has been identified as Rodney Robinson II.
Robinson was pronounced dead at Beebe Hospital following the shooting, which occurred just before 2:30 a.m. in an alley off Saulsbury Street. Delaware State Police, which is investigating the shooting, said Robinson ran there after being confronted by Dewey Beach police.
According to state police, shortly after 1:15 a.m., employees of The Starboard, located at the corner of Saulsbury Street and Route 1, told Dewey Beach police officers that Robinson had left the bar with a gun.
Police tried to stop him but he ran, according to Delaware State Police. Dewey Beach officers chased him for about three blocks before losing sight of him.
BACKGROUND:Man, 21, killed in shooting involving Dewey Beach officer early Saturday
About an hour later, another Starboard employee called 911, saying Robinson had returned to the bar and was in a restricted, employee-only area. The bar had closed by that time and only employees were left, state police said.
Two Dewey Beach officers who responded found Robinson in the bar’s outdoor tent. When they tried to talk to him, state police said Robinson again ran.
Officers chased him to a nearby alley, where a Dewey Beach officer who has been on the force for 1.5 years fired a single shot. Delaware State Police have not given an explanation why, saying “the details surrounding the shooting incident are still in the early stages.”
Police are typically trained to shoot multiple times.
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After the shooting, Robinson ran from the alley, state police said. Additional Dewey Beach officers who responded the scene found him unconscious behind a commercial building on Route 1 with a single gunshot wound to the upper torso.
State police said the gun Robinson was reported to have was also found with his body.
The shooting came during The Starboard Restaurant’s “reopening” weekend alongside St. Patrick’s Day festivities that had been ongoing since Thursday.
By Saturday afternoon, the area was packed with bar patrons, many of whom gave little thought to the early morning incident.
Still, residents of Saulsbury Street said they weren’t surprised by the violence. They described it as a “rough part of town” where police activity is “not unusual.”
The shooting was the first police shooting since November. That occurred in Millsboro.
Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_
