Newton police fatally shoot robbery suspect allegedly armed with knife

Newton police on Tuesday fatally shot a robbery suspect allegedly armed with a knife, authorities said.

Police received a 911 call at 1:43 p.m. reporting a robbery at Indulge!, a candy store on Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands.

Two police officers — one in uniform and one in plainclothes — who happened to be nearby arrived at the scene and found a white, 28-year-old man armed with a knife, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said.

The man lived in an apartment in the building and fled to the third floor, pursued by the officers, Ryan said.

Police called for backup, including more officers and a mental health clinician, she said.

Newton police, as well as two state troopers who had been working a detail nearby, arrived at the scene, Ryan said.

Police used a beanbag shotgun, and one of the state troopers used a taser, she said.

“Both of those uses of non-lethal force were unsuccessful in subduing the suspect,” Ryan said.

Two Newton officers then shot him, she said.

“The officers were forced to do what they ended up doing,” said State Police Col. Christopher Mason.

The man was taken to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Ryan said.

The names of neither the suspect nor the officers who shot him were released.

“We are still in the very early stages of this investigation,” Ryan said.

“It is always a tragedy when there is a loss of life here in Newton, and we feel that tragedy deeply,” said Mayor Ruthanne Fuller. “… Our hearts go out to the family of the young man who was lost.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3biFnvr