Police say man shot himself during chase, crowds protest

WINCHESTER, Va. - (AP) -- Virginia State Police say they're investigating after a man was shot and killed while police chased him.

Authorities say he shot himself, but witnesses dispute that.

In a news release, state police say officers from the Winchester Police Department responded to a report of a fight Sunday afternoon. Police say the officers found two people and one fled. Police say 20-year-old D'Londre Minifield stopped and fired a gun as officers approached, dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say no officers opened fire.

Media outlets and police report that at a protest Monday, about 100 people gathered, including some who challenge officials' version of events.

Eighteen-year-old Quay Pannell told The Winchester Star (http://bit.ly/1QpclFM ) he was traveling in a car about 50 yards away and saw an officer aiming a gun at Minifield and the gun went off. Twenty-four-year-old Kayla Friesen says she saw police shoot Minifield as he was about to climb a fence.

------

This APNewsNow has been corrected to show that police say one person fled police, not two.
------
Information from: The Winchester Star, http://www.winchesterstar.com