A man with a gun shot dead by Metropolitan Police officers after he threatened to take his own life has been named as a father-of-four from Lithuania.
Giedrius Vasiljevas, 40, was shot twice by the Metropolitan Police at his house in Dagenham, East London around 9pm on Thursday.
He had phoned 999 and told the operator that he wanted to take his own life and that he had loaded guns, according to a police statement.
Officers were scrambled to his home using a specialist negotiator to try to defuse the situation.
But Mr Vasiljevas is understood to have confronted officers on his doorstep before shots were fired.
He was pronounced dead at 9.30pm despite efforts by police and paramedics to save him.
His wife, Sigita Vasiljeva told Mail online he had been suffering with mental health issues.
She said: "He was a hardworking family man and a good father, but he needed psychological treatment and he couldn't find the help he needed."
A friend of the family added: "Giedrius had come back from Lithuania about two weeks ago, where he'd visited his older daughter.
"He has been married twice before, Sigita is his third wife.
"She'd dropped their son off at school and picked him up and dropped him at mine so she could go to work, cleaning offices.
"Giedrius stayed at home. He worked in the construction industry but recently he hadn't been on many jobs.
"Sigita came back later in the evening and went to her house but there were police everywhere. They told her what had happened, and she was distraught.
"Giedrius had been suffering from poor mental health. He'd be talking to people who weren't there and last week he'd acted strange and got up at 3am to start washing clothes.
"I don't know if he'd been diagnosed with anything, but he'd tried to get help for his mental health. Yet the problems continued."
Forensics experts have been trawling through the house for evidence.
The friend added: "He had a rifle-type gun because he'd apparently found one in the back of his shed when he moved into the house.
"What happened when the police arrived at the house, we just don't know fully yet. It's under investigation and nobody has told us too much. We're still awaiting answers on a lot of things.
"But Giedrius was a good man, he just needed some help."
Assistant Met Commissioner Matt Twist said: “Our thoughts remain with the loved ones of the man who has died, with the local community in Dagenham and the officers involved in this incident.
“The IOPC is independently investigating this matter. It is right that officers are held to account when shots are fired, and we will work with the IOPC to provide all the information they need to carry out their enquiries.
“Our armed officers are highly trained and work around the clock to keep people safe in London. We ask them to do an incredibly difficult job every day and make split second decisions under huge pressure. A fatal police shooting is rare. The officers involved in this matter are being supported as they assist the IOPC investigation.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating as is required with all police shootings.
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family and all of those affected by this tragic incident.
“We have spoken with his family to offer our sympathies and explain our role.
“Given a man has died after being shot by police, our role is to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by the police.
“We know there will be questions about what happened but it’s important that we establish the facts about this incident before we comment further.”
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