State police were justified in shooting 19-year-old Christian Hall on a Monroe County overpass in December, investigators announced during a press conference Tuesday morning.

Hall was shot Dec. 30 on the bridge at the Route 33 southbound overpass over Interstate 80 in Hamilton Township after police said he refused to drop what appeared to them to be a semi-automatic handgun. He had called 911, authorities said, telling dispatchers someone was on the bridge about to commit suicide.

The nearly hour-and-a-half encounter after troopers arrived on scene was captured on police cruiser cameras, and parts of it were played during Tuesday’s press conference.

“It is apparent, watching the video and looking at the evidence, that Mr. Hall wanted to commit suicide, but not necessarily by his own hand,” Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Mancuso said in announcing the findings. “He provoked the use of deadly force by state police. We have no indication recklessness or malice was present here.”

Mancuso said Hall was told nearly 100 times to put the gun down, but refused.

“A first round of shots from police missed Hall, but yet, he doesn’t drop the gun and instead raises it up and continues to move toward police,” Mancuso said. “It’s a testament to troopers that they didn’t shoot sooner. The threat was apparent the moment he had his hand on the gun. They had no choice.”

The gun in question, investigators said, turned out to be a pellet gun made to look like a semi-automatic handgun. It is a weapon, Mancuso said, that Hall frequently carried in the past and had with him in prior robberies.

“He had convinced others in the past that it was a real gun, and police had every belief that it was a real gun,” Mancuso said. “We can’t use hindsight when considering these findings.”

Tuesday’s press conference was streamed live on the Monroe County District Attorney’s Facebook and YouTube pages. It drew critical reaction in the comments from both an attorney for Hall’s estate and surviving parents, and state Rep. Maureen Madden.

Devon Jacob said he and fellow national civil rights attorney Ben Crump would hold a virtual press conference Wednesday at 10 a.m. to respond to the findings. Jacob did share an excerpt of a letter he said was delivered to the district attorney’s office on March 25.

“Most troubling, however, is the fact that neither the criminal investigators nor you have reached out to Christian’s parents to extend condolences, explain the investigative process, or explain how the prosecutorial decision will be made,” the letter from the attorneys states. “This failure or oversight is unprofessional and deviates from standard practice. I have investigated countless police-involved shootings nationwide, and this is the first time ever that I have seen a decedent’s family treated with such disrespect.”

Madden also chimed in, saying the district attorney’s office should have reached out to the parents prior to the press conference.

“A young man was shot seven times by state police,” Madden said in the post. “You don’t think you should be delivering the findings? Incredibly insensitive and heartless move by an incompetent and heartless district attorney.”

According to Mancuso, investigators attempted to interview surviving family members to help determine Hall’s state of mind at the time of the incident.

“Several attempts were made and each time were rebuffed,” he said. “Each time we were told to talk to their attorney. We didn’t hear anything from an attorney until last week. There was no direct request for information during the course of the investigation.”

Cellular data, Mancuso said, was also analyzed, which turned up that Hall’s probation officer had been trying to contact him while he was on the bridge, but Hall did not answer. Examination of social media found Hall was on the bridge up to a week before his death and had photographed the view from down below with the added text, “Who would miss me?” and similar messages. He also left an audio message for his ex-girlfriend, Mancuso said, saying farewell.

“This is a tragic situation,” Mancuso said. “It was fueled by Mr. Hall’s mental state and his desire to end his life.”

The incident was one of four shootings by police in Monroe County in 2020.

“That is more than the norm,” Mancuso said.