Police shoot-kill man who threatened hospital security with knives
Phoenix AZ Aug 18 2017 A man who threatened staff at a Phoenix hospital with knives was pronounced dead after a police officer shot him during a confrontation Thursday morning, Phoenix police said.
The 28-year-old man walked into the Maricopa Medical Center on 24th and Roosevelt streets just before 5 a.m., waving knives at staff and threatening them, Sgt. Alan Pfohl said.
When police arrived, they saw the man attempting to break into a nearby apartment, Pfohl said.
Officers tried to calm the man, but he refused to put his knives down and started walking toward them, Pfohl said.
Officers first shot less-lethal stun-bag rounds in an effort to have the man drop the knives, but they were unsuccessful, Pfohl said. One officer eventually fired at the man, stopping him, he said.
The man was taken to the Maricopa Medical Center but later died of his injury, Pfohl said. No officers were injured during the confrontation.
Five Phoenix police officers and one hospital security guard were confronted by the man during the incident, police said.
Police said they were unsure if he knew anyone at the apartment complex.
It was the 29th time police shot someone in Maricopa County this year.
AZCentral
