Eyewitnesses Say Oregon Militiaman Shot Dead by Police ‘Had His Hands in the Air’

Sgt. Tom Hutchison stands in front of an Oregon State Police roadblock on Highway 395 on Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 between John Day and Burns, Ore. The FBI on Tuesday arrested the leaders of an armed group that has occupied a federal wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon for the past three weeks. Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP

Eyewitnesses to the shooting of LaVoy Finicum say the Oregon militiaman was shot despite having his hands in the air.

Finicum, Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy, and several others were in a vehicle on their way to a nearby town when they were stopped about 20 miles north of Burns.

FBI and state police arrested the protesters and charged them with the felony offense of conspiracy to impede federal officers.

But during the arrest, authorities say Finicum and Ryan Bundy refused to follow orders--and shots were fired.

Finicum ended up dead, and Bundy was shot in the arm. It’s unclear if any law enforcement officers were shot.

LaVoy Finicum, center, a rancher from Arizona who was part of an armed group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge to protest federal land management policies, carries his granddaughter Payton, as other family member watch following a news conference at the refuge Friday, Jan. 8, 2016, near Burns, Ore. AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Jason Patrick and Ryan Bundy (R), one of the protest leaders, talk as they join other protesters at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on January 15, 2016 near Burns, Oregon. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Five to six people had a meeting and by consensus decided to stay, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting. 

“We’re not cowards like the rest,” one said, noting they’re prepared to die.

Jason Patrick, one of the remaining occupiers, told Reuters that they would stay until a “redress of grievances” was given.

“I’ve heard ‘peaceful resolution’ for weeks now and now there’s a cowboy who is my friend who is dead — so prepare for the peaceful resolution,” he said.

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• Ammon Bundy and Members of Oregon Protest Arrested After Confrontation With FBI: Reports

He likened Finicum’s death to the killing of unarmed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland in 2014. “The government can kill who they want for whatever reason they want with impunity,” Patrick said.

Meanwhile, on Operation Mutual Defense, a network of militias and patriot sympathizers, one of the occupiers issued a call for help at the refuge.

“You have an obligation to proceed to the Harney County Resource Center (the wildlife refuge) immediately,” wrote Gary Hunt. “If you fail to arrive, you will demonstrate by your own actions that your previous statements to defend life, liberty, and property were false.”