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Police union says fatal officer shooting of 19-year-old with knife was justified
Sunnyvale Police Union says the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old resident of a mobile home park was a justified act of self defense after they say he advanced on them with a knife. Neighbors who say they witnessed the shooting said the victim was suffering a mental health crisis.
SUNNYVALE, Calif. - Sunnyvale police on Saturday shot and killed a man they said advanced toward an officer carrying a knife.
Police said they received a call at approximately 5:30 p.m. about a man walking near a mobile home park, carrying a knife.
Officers responded to the Plaza Del Rey community at 1225 Vienna Dr., locating an adult male in the roadway armed with a knife in his hand.
Police said officers commanded the man to stay where he was and to place the knife on the ground, but the man ignored the officers' repeated commands.
Police said in a statement the man "advanced on one of the officers."
"Officers quickly said drop the knife, don’t move forward," said a witness, who asked to remain anonymous, and acknowledged seeing the victim advance forward.
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Sunnyvale police shoot and kill man armed with knife
Sunnyvale police on Saturday shot and killed a man they said advanced toward an officer carrying a knife.
The officer responded by shooting the man.
The witness said the shooting happened just steps from her home, and that the victim was her neighbor's 19-year-old son.
"We heard the two gun shots go off," said the same witness. "I put myself in his mom’s position and it’s heartbreaking…"He was on medication, and she didn’t understand why this happened…We saw the gentleman walking down the street. He wasn’t screaming or bothering anyone."
Police said officers immediately attempted life-saving measures and the man was transported by ambulance to a local area hospital, where he later died.
In response to the shooting, the city's police union, the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association, released a statement on Sunday, which said in part, "Experiencing a violent attack and being forced to use a firearm in self-defense is the most dreaded encounter an officer can experience in our profession…in fear for their life and having no other option, an officer was forced to fire his handgun at the knife wielding man in order to stop his attack."
"I understand that maybe they thought their life was in danger, but they could have done something else and not taken his life," said the witness.
Police said Sunday the shooting is being investigated by Sunnyvale police and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, per the Santa Clara County Officer Involved Incident Protocol.
We will update this story with new details as we learn them.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Detective G. Limon at (408) 730-7110.
KTVU's Zak Sos contributed to this report.
The City of Sunnyvale, Calif. Police Department logo. seal (Photo courtesy Sunnyvale Police)