A man was shot and killed by police in Brighton Friday morning after he lunged at officers with a knife, authorities said.
The man, who was not identified, was experiencing a mental health crisis, Boston police said. He was hospitalized in critical condition, but later died from his injuries, according to Boston police spokesperson Sergeant Detective John Boyle. The man’s identity has not been released.
Police initially responded around 7 a.m. to 24 Selkirk Road, not far from Cleveland Circle, about a man threatening to harm himself with a knife. Before they arrived, the call was upgraded to a person in a mental health crisis, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said at an afternoon news conference at police headquarters.
Police engaged the man for about 20 minutes, trying to get him to drop the knife, Cox said. He said the knife was “very large.”
While officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, the man stopped threatening to hurt himself and instead charged officers with the knife, Cox said. That’s when an officer fired one shot, striking the man.
“He was stopped immediately,” Cox said. He said the shooting unfolded outside a home at Selkirk Road, where officers had been stationed while trying to negotiate with the man.
The officers did not suffer stab wounds, Cox said, adding that they “retreated as much as they could, until they couldn’t.” He said someone else was initially present in the home on Selkirk Road where the shooting occured, but they were brought outside for their safety.
The shooter was a male officer who has been on the force for a little more than two years, Cox said.
While most Boston police are equipped with non-lethal weapons such as Tasers, Cox said it was still under investigation whether the officer had one.
Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden, who also spoke at the news conference, said investigators are reviewing what happened, including by viewing body-camera footage.
He promised a “complete and thorough investigation.”
“We commend our officers’ swift response and efforts to de-escalate an incredibly dangerous and highly hostile situation that ultimately resulted in an officer having to discharge his firearm,” Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said in a statement.
In any interaction with law enforcement officers, he said, “please comply with their lawful commands. It creates a safer environment for all involved.”
The early morning violence occurred on a secluded tree-lined block in Brighton dotted with townhouses. Pumpkins and pots of yellow flowers lined the steps where the shooting occurred. The home was surrounded by fallen leaves.
Neighbor Patti Dunn said a number of police cruisers had arrived when she first came outside around 10 a.m. She said at least six detectives went inside the house. “They were all in plain clothes so I thought they were just visiting,” she added.
In more than two decades living next door, Dunn said, it was the first time she could remember such a large law enforcement presence. She awoke to dozens of police patrolling the street and blocking off her walkway with caution tape. She said she knew the man and his wife only in passing.
“It’s a sad situation that got out of hand. It’s really sad,” she said. “I feel very bad for his wife, and for everybody else who lives in the neighborhood.”
Christine Garcia, who lives across the street, added that she wasn’t too disturbed by the early morning violence, though it shattered the usual peaceful quiet of the area.
She said the investigation around the home lasted for hours, with police checking under cars, shaking a tree in the front yard, and walking a police dog around the property.
Mayor Michelle Wu issued a statement Friday evening saying, “My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the individual who lost his life.”
“Our first responders and police officers regularly face difficult and dangerous situations. We are grateful for their service and thinking of the officers who were impacted by today’s events,” she added.
This story has been updated.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism. Lea Skene can be reached at lea.skene@globe.com. Follow her on X @lea_skene.