DA: Officers Justified in Use of Deadly Force in Fatal Shooting of Suspect in Lowell, Massachusetts

Jose Perez was shot and killed by police after he charged at officers with a knife and meat cleaver

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said an investigation has found that two officers who shot and killed a suspect in Lowell, Massachusetts, were justified in the use of deadly force.

Jose Perez, 39, of Lowell, was shot and killed by police after he charged at officers with a knife and meat cleaver on Cambridge Street on March 26. Two 911 callers said Perez was "threatening to kill everyone."

Ryan said the investigation conducted by her office, Massachusetts State Police and Lowell Police also determined that there was no criminal conduct involved in Perez's shooting.

The officers have been identified as Chase Suong and Guillermo Rojas. Suong has been with the Lowell Police Department since 2010 and is assigned to the gang unit. Rojas has been with the department since 2012 and is assigned as a district response officer.

The investigation into the officer-involved shooting included interviews of all the responding officers and civilian witnesses, ballistics examinations and reviews of radio transmissions, police reports and the medical examiner's findings.

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