The New York state trooper who shot and killed a man in the Bethel Church parking lot Wednesday afternoon is Brian Rudolph, a 23-year veteran of the State Police, investigators said.

Dual investigations by both New York State Police and the New York State Attorney General’s Office continue. The trooper involved has voluntarily removed himself from duty.

Even though state police are not yet ready to label the incident or draw any conclusions, the deadly incident appeared to play out like a so-called “suicide by cop” incident, according to witnesses.

James Dellea, 48, of Hillsdale was killed. He’s a well-known area stock car driver. According to his sister, he’s experienced multiple personal tragedies over the past three years, losing both parents, two siblings, and his day-old grandson.

Several of Dellea’s recent Facebook posts reflect the depression he was apparently living through.

According to State Police, troopers were looking for Dellea as part of a welfare check. One of their troopers spotted Dellea parking in his car at the nearby Saratoga Speedway. When the trooper approached Dellea, they said he led them on a slow-speed chase north on Route 9, where he turned into the church parking lot.

When Dellea exited his car and pointed a weapon at the trooper, Rudolph fired the fatal shots, according to state police.

Rudolph had just finished his shift and was being transported by another trooper who was operating a marked state police vehicle.

Hear witnesses discuss what they saw leading up to the shooting, by watching the video of Dan Levy’s story.