Police: Man armed with knife charged at officers in deadly Robbinsdale police shooting
Witness video of deadly police shooting in Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Witness video of a deadly police shooting in Robbinsdale, Minnesota on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021. The man shot by police had a knife, according to the witness. Some audio of the witness speaking has been edited out of this video at the request of the witness.
ROBBINSDALE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man who was armed with a knife has died after being shot by police in Robbinsdale, according to authorities.
Friday around 10:51 a.m., officers tried to make a traffic stop on a vehicle because the vehicle's owner had a felony warrant out for their arrest. There was a short chase during which the vehicle became disabled and was blocked in by officers in the 3700 block of Noble Avenue N.
A man armed with a knife got out of the car and ignored officers' commands to drop the knife. Police tried to use a Taser, but it didn't work. According to police, the man "continued to charge officers with the knife in an aggressive manner" and the officers shot him because they believed they were "imminent danger." Officers tried to revive the man, but he died of his injuries.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, there was one other person inside the vehicle during the chase before the shooting happened. Neither that person or any officers were injured in the incident.
BCA officials did find a knife at the scene.
The incident was captured on police body cameras. Investigators are determining if squad camera video also captured the shooting.
Jim Hunter, who lives in the area, recalled hearing the shouting outside his window and the shots being fired.
"One of our neighbors, they have little ones, they made them lay on the ground," said Hunter. "That was probably wise because we did not know where the bullets were coming from."
A different witness to the shooting provided to video to FOX 9 that captures the shooting. The witness noted the man was armed with a knife when he was shot by police.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner will identify the man following an autopsy.
The case is under investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.