A local man is fighting for his life in an area hospital after he was shot by police in Burlington, Massachusetts, when he came at them with a knife on Sunday.
The shooting occurred at the Lord Baron Apartments complex on Baron Park Lane shortly after noon.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said the incident began when Burlington police received a 911 call from a man in his 40s who lived at the apartment complex saying he was experiencing "mental health issues" and had a knife.
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Responding officers were told to wait outside for the arrival of supervisors and fire and ambulance personnel, Ryan said. The first two responding officers were waiting outside their cruisers when the man came out the front door of the apartment building wielding a knife and rapidly advancing toward the officers, she said.
The officers told the man to drop the knife, but he ignored them, Ryan said, leading one of the officers to discharge a non-lethal projectile at him, without success. The man continued to advance rapidly on the officers, and the second officer then shot him with his firearm.
First aid was rendered to the man on scene and he was taken to a local hospital where he is being treated for life-threatening injuries, the district attorney said.
She said one officer sustained minor injuries when he fell and hit his head, and both officers were taken to an area hospital and have since been released.
The man remained on the line with the dispatcher throughout the entire incident, and Ryan said the recording will be used as part of the investigation.
The man had reportedly lived at the apartment complex since July of 2021 and was not known to local police. His name is being withheld pending notification of family members.
The investigation is ongoing, and officers are expected to be interviewing residents of the apartment complex on Sunday night, Ryan said.
