Officer stabbed by man in ‘unprovoked attack’ fatally shoots him, California cops say
A police officer fatally shot a man who California police say stabbed him in an “unprovoked attack” outside a police station.
As the officer was gathering information from a resident about an unrelated incident, a man approached the pair outside the Santa Monica Police Department the evening of Saturday, Oct. 5, the department said in a news release.
The officer told the man “he needed to wait” while he talked with the resident, police said.
“It was in that moment that the man unexpectedly, and without warning, attacked the officer,” Chief Ramon Batista told KABC.
The man pulled a knife from his clothing and “slashed and stabbed the officer,” according to police.
As the “officer retreated around the corner of the building,” the man followed, and an “officer-involved shooting occurred,” police said.
Officers helped the injured man until first responders arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene, police said.
The officer was seriously injured but in stable condition after the attack, police said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He was later released from the hospital and “is now home, focusing on recovery,” police said on X.
“We are all grateful for his dedication to protecting our community and will do everything we can to help him and his family through the hard work of recovering from this attack,” police said.
The department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office are both investigating the shooting, police said.
This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Officer stabbed by man in ‘unprovoked attack’ fatally shoots him, California cops say."
