FAYETTEVILLE -- The man a Washington County deputy shot to death Wednesday afternoon left a note in his backpack that said he intended to kill himself, according to a police news release Thursday.
Benjamin Ortiz, 25, of Las Vegas drew a 4-inch, fixed-blade knife from his backpack and approached Cpl. Brad Robinson at 1:52 p.m. Wednesday at Tire Tracks at 800 S. School Ave., police said. Ortiz did not respond to commands to drop his knife and lunged several times at Robinson, according to the release.
Robinson tried to retreat but eventually fired his gun twice, hitting Ortiz in the torso, according to the release. Ortiz collapsed, and Robinson attempted first aid, police said. Ortiz died in the parking lot near a bay housing Robinson's patrol vehicle.
No one else was hurt in the shooting, said Sgt. Craig Stout, Fayetteville police spokesman. Nothing else was hit by bullets, he said.
Ortiz left a note in his backpack that indicated "his intentions towards suicide, and instructions to friends and family as to what to do after his death," according to the release. Stout said Ortiz was in Northwest Arkansas visiting his sister.
Fayetteville police did not have previous records dealings with Ortiz, Stout said.
Robinson was in uniform but not on duty while getting his patrol car serviced Wednesday, Stout said. Robinson did not know Ortiz, police said.
Witnesses said Wednesday a man approached the deputy with a knife. Security video from the business is part of an investigation into the shooting and was not released Thursday, Stout said.
Ortiz's body was sent to the state Crime Laboratory for an autopsy, police said.
Robinson, who has been a deputy since 2005, hasn't been involved in a similar occurrence, sheriff's office spokesman Kelly Cantrell said Wednesday.
As per policy, Robinson is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation, Cantrell said.
The Fayetteville Police Department is investigating the shooting, Stout said.
Metro on 12/23/2016