PEARISBURG, Va. (AP) — Virginia State Police say a Pearisburg police officer fatally shot a man after he pointed a gun during a traffic stop.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller identified the man as 47-year-old Thomas N. Saunders of Ripplemead.

Geller says Saunders was driving a vehicle that was stopped by the officer around 3 p.m. Sunday in Pearisburg. She says Saunders got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at the officer, who then shot him.

Saunders died at a nearby hospital.

The body has been sent to the Office of the Medical Examiner in Roanoke.

Geller says Pearisburg’s police chief asked state police to investigate the incident.

The officer wasn’t identified.

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