MARION, Iowa — A quiet early‑morning Wednesday call turned tragic in this eastern Iowa town when 18‑year‑old Saber Jonathan Bernard was shot and killed by a Marion police officer after police say he approached them with a deadly weapon.
Around 7:50 a.m. on Deer Valley Drive, neighbors were startled when Bernard asked someone nearby to call police so he could talk with officers. When Marion police arrived on the scene, they spent a few minutes talking with Bernard and the neighbor, trying to understand what was going on.
Things took a sudden turn. Investigators say Bernard pulled a large machete from his clothing and began walking toward the officers. Despite repeated orders to stop and an attempt to subdue him with a taser, Bernard kept coming closer, police say.
With the situation escalating and the weapon still in play, one officer fired a single shot aimed at stopping the threat. Bernard was struck and immediately fell to the ground. Officers rushed to his side, performed CPR and called for paramedics. He was taken to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has taken over the case, as is standard in officer‑involved shootings here, to provide an independent review of what led to the use of deadly force. The officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave while the review moves forward.
Neighbors in the usually calm Deer Valley neighborhood say they were shocked when police cars and emergency crews swarmed the street early Wednesday. Some described Bernard as reserved but caring, while others were still trying to piece together why he wanted to speak with officers that morning.
At this stage, authorities have released few additional details, urging anyone who saw something related to the encounter to come forward to Marion police or the state investigators assisting in the case. The community continues to grapple with the loss of a young life and questions about what happened that morning.
