A D.C. police officer fatally shot a man at 14th and V Streets NW on Tuesday night after responding to a call from a neighbor in an adjacent building. It was the third police shooting in the city over the last week — and the second to end in a fatality.

Police said the man was standing on his balcony with a “long gun,” which he ultimately pointed at officers sometime after their arrival. They later acknowledged that it actually appeared to be an airsoft gun that fires nonlethal pellets. The department said it plans to release body camera footage of the encounter, which may help clarify missing facts.

Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said in a press conference Tuesday night that officers responded to the scene and tried to deescalate the situation, having “multiple conversations” with the man. Contee said the individual went “back and forth” into the apartment and eventually emerged with the “long gun.” The police department posted a photo of the weapon on Twitter and identified it as a “firearm,” though it appears to be an airsoft gun made by the company First Strike.

Later, when asked by reporters whether it was an airsoft gun, Contee said that was possible, but that officers could not initially tell what kind of gun it was.

“That’s not the condition that it was in when it was displayed to officers,” said Contee. “This weapon looks very real. It appears to be some type of airsoft rifle, perhaps a paint gun.”

Contee said at least one officer fired shots, and the man that police shot was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. An officer suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of the incident, but Contee said he did not know whether the injury came from the airsoft gun or something else.

“It’s unfortunate, obviously, any time we have to use force in any situation,” said Contee.

D.C. law requires the city to release the body camera footage and names of officers involved in a serious use of force within five days, unless the family of the victim objects to the release of the footage. Contee said at the press conference that the department would work to comply with the law.

“We will be working around the clock to get the video of this out and we will be talking to the mayor as well and go through the proper channels in an effort to get this out to the public,” he said.

On Wednesday, police identified the man as 34-year-old George Watson.

Neighbors said they believe this was not his first interaction with police for an apparent crisis, according to Sabel Harris, an ANC Commissioner in Ward 1. At Tuesday’s press conference, Contee said he did not have immediate information to offer about his history with police. Harris said she was still working to find out more information about what happened.

“I want to know what the series of events were,” she said. “It’s worth always finding out more, because this highlights the broader issue: MPD shouldn’t have been involved if someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.”

Harris said she wants to see more investment in the Department of Behavioral Health’s Community Response Team, which responds to people in mental health crisis. (Earlier this year, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new pilot program to dispatch mental health professionals to certain non-emergency 911 calls.) And Harris said she also wants to see more community education around resources and alternatives to police for people experiencing mental illness.

“I just feel so heavy today,” said Harris. “Even though I didn’t know this person, I just fully believe they didn’t need to die last night. I’m very sad and just angry that this happened.”

The shooting at 14th and V was the third police shooting in D.C. over the past week, and the second fatal one. Last week, a D.C. police officer fatally shot 27-year-old Antwan Gilmore in Northeast D.C. In a separate incident, a police officer shot another man, who survived.

This story has been updated to include George Watson’s name.