Man who wielded machete, exposed himself to children and killed by San Leandro police ID'd

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (BCN) -  A man who was shot Tuesday by San Leandro police was identified by the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau as 56-year-old Anthony Robert Gomez of San Leandro, according to police.

 Officers initially responded at about 4:05 p.m. to a 911 call from someone in the 1900 block of North Boulevard who said his neighbor, later identified as Gomez, appeared intoxicated. He said Gomez was wielding a machete and hitting a tree with it, and that he had pulled his pants down and exposed himself to small children, according to police.

 The caller told dispatchers that Gomez said he would "kill the police" if they were summoned, police said.

The first officer arrived at 4:11 p.m. and saw the man holding the machete. Additional officers arrived and told the man to stop and drop his weapon, said police.

 Gomez refused and continued to walk away toward a home in the 600 block of Martin Boulevard. He ignored officers' orders to stop and eventually threw his machete in the air several feet; it landed in the front yard of a neighboring home, police said.

 Gomez then walked to the front porch of a house and faced the officers, who saw an elderly woman sitting on the porch a short distance away. Police instructed the woman to step off the porch, and continued to negotiate with Gomez.

 As officers approached the sidewalk in front of the home, police said Gomez raised what officers believed to be a gun in his hand and pointed it at them while shouting a profane, challenging comment.

 An officer, a nine-year veteran of the department, then fired a shot at Gomez, striking him in the upper body. He dropped the object, which was later determined to be a piece of wood similar in size and color to a handgun, according to police.

Officers then began trying to resuscitate Gomez, but he was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. No firearm or other weapons were discovered, police said.

San Leandro police and the Alameda County District Attorney's office continue to investigate this case.