YANKTON, S.D. -- A South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation review found that two Yankton police officers were justified in a shooting a man Dec. 5 in the Yankton High School parking lot.

"This individual refused officer commands and held two firearms in the direction of the officers," South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said in a statement released Friday. "There was a clear and present danger to law enforcement on scene and to the public, justifying and requiring their actions."

The incident began when Yankton police were notified of 40-year-old Andrew Jondahl sitting in his pickup truck in the high school's parking lot. Jondahl had been escorted out of an event in the school, appeared to be intoxicated and was making threats of self-harm. He held a long gun in his lap, according to the statement.

When law enforcement arrived, Jondahl twice refused officer commands to place his hands outside of the truck window. When he finally exited his vehicle, the statement said he was holding two shotguns in his hands, facing the officers in a manner where he could have fired at the officers. The two officers fired 14 .223-caliber rounds at Jondahl, who received four non life-threatening gunshot wounds. No one else was injured.

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Jondahl tested positive for alcohol with a blood alcohol content level of .152 percent. The two officers tested negative for alcohol and drugs, according to the statement.

Officers recovered two shotguns, both with live shells in the magazine tubes and one weapon had a live shell in the chamber. Also discovered in the truck were two napkins with handwriting on them, including one statement that said, "I will kill them until they kill me."

The DCI processed the crime scene, collected and analyzed evidence, reviewed forensic examinations, interviewed the officers involved, gathered witness statements and viewed all available video.

The statement said charges are pending against Jondahl. The case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General's Office and the Yankton County State's Attorney's Office.

The incident marks the fifth police shooting in South Dakota in 2024.

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