First picture of Derby knifeman Marius Ciolac fatally shot by police as his family speak out

The devastated family of the Derbyshire knifeman, who was shot dead by police, have revealed they only found out about how he was killed "from the news".

Marius Ciolac, who was shot by armed officers in a Derby police station car park, was tackled with a stun grenade, baton round and Taser before the fatal shot was fired.

Andreea Ciolac, the sister of Marius Ciolac, said she only learned about the circumstances of her brother's death from the news coverage.

The Romanian mum-of-two, who lives in Italy, said: "Marius was clearly in the wrong, he was not innocent.

"We heard that he had a knife on him. But why kill him?"

"We only found out from the news later that his lawyer said he was having mental health issues."

The 32-year-old said her late brother moved to England four years ago and had been working as a builder.

"He wanted to move back to Romania in like a month, to travel," she said, before adding: "We thought he was happy in England, but in the last months he was lonely."

What happened at Derby's Ascot Drive police station?

Mr Ciolac, 35, suffered a single bullet wound to the abdomen after being shot by an armed police officer.

The incident occurred in Ascot Drive police station's car park in Derby at around 9.55am on Friday (7 October), after officers reported seeing Marius Ciolaca with a knife.

He was reportedly causing damage to the property including smashing glass in the entrance door and windows around it.

A Taser, baton round and a stun grenade were used by Derbyshire Police in an attempt to stop Mr Ciolac.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said a cat in a bag and three knives were found at the scene.

Since finding out about Marius' death, the family say their priority is to get his body back to Romania.

Ms Ciolac, who is awaiting her third child and lives in Florence with her mother, says she cannot fly to England because she is eight months pregnant.She said: "My mum cannot really talk about it, she is very upset. We know there will be a large sum of money involved.

"We managed to get a flight ticket to England for my brother who lives in Romania.

"He will fly there in England to officially identify the body.

"It will all start on Monday, but we do not know how long it will all take."

Ms Ciolac added: "We tried to get in touch with Marius before he died. We spoke to some of his friends who were saying that he was quite lonely."We are just all very shocked.

"We would have understood maybe if it was an accident but in these circumstances we just cannot find answers."She continued: "I just think it is all very awkward.

"We do not understand what it was in his head, to have a knife on him in a police station car park.

"Police also told us that he was carrying a bag with a cat inside it."Mr Ciolac's mum, Mariana Racos, said: "It all happened too fast. Even if he was in the wrong. It all happened too fast."

An inquest into Mr Ciolac's death will be held and an investigation by the IOPC is carrying out its own investigation.

IOPC Regional Director Derrick Campbell said: "We have made contact with Mr Ciolac’s family in Romania and Italy to explain our role, and our heartfelt sympathies are with them and everyone else affected by this tragic incident.

"A lot of rumour about the tragic events of Friday morning has been reported and while it is natural for people to want answers quickly about what happened, I would ask that people show patience and refrain from further speculation out of respect for Mr Ciolac’s family and for everyone involved.

"We are committed to carrying out a full and thorough investigation of all the circumstances.

"While there is still a lot of work to do, we have gathered initial accounts from the officers involved and other witnesses from the emergency services.

"CCTV footage has been reviewed and we are gathering a large amount of police body worn video.

"We are also in the process of contacting members of the public identified as potential witnesses who may be able to assist our inquiries."