Prosecutors said Thursday that they would not pursue charges against a D.C. police officer who fatally shot an armed man in Southeast Washington in May.

       In a statement Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said officers responded to an apartment in the 1200 block of Mississippi Avenue SE on May 24 about 11 a.m. for a welfare check on a woman allegedly held against her will by 26-year-old Vedo Hall, her ex-boyfriend.

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       Officer who fatally shot man in Southeast Washington identified

       When officers knocked on the apartment door, Hall, who was armed with a rifle, said, “I’m about to shoot,” according to the statement. When officers entered the apartment, they found it empty after Hall and the woman fled.

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       About 3 p.m. the same day, the statement said, officers searching the 1300 block of Alabama Avenue SE after the woman’s cellphone was reported near that location found Hall carrying a cardboard box. After Hall drew a rifle from the box, according to the statement, an officer shouted, “Put it down!” When Hall pointed the weapon at the officer, the statement said, the officer fired two rounds from his pistol, striking Hall once in the face and once in the left leg. Hall died of a gunshot wound to the head, police said.

       After prosecutors reviewed the incident, they “found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers used excessive force under the circumstances,” the statement said.

       The officer who shot Hall was previously identified as Noah Rathbun, who joined the force in 2015.