Stephen James Hughes

Deadly force

At approximately 2:15 p.m. the Berks County Department of Emergency Services received a 911 call from a woman, reporting a man with a knife. She said he had threatened her, and the phone call disconnected. Muhlenberg Township police to a home and entered the residence. The woman said that Stephen James Hughes, with a knife, locked himself inside a second floor bedroom. Hughes brandished a knife, and one officer reportedly deployed his Taser to no effect. A second officer shot and killed Hughes.