Knife-Wielding Man Shot, Killed By Lowell Police
LOWELL (CBS) -- Police shot to death a man they say was threatening to kill people in a Lowell home late Saturday night.
Lowell police officers responded to 911 calls made from the Cambridge Street home shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday which said the man was out of control and threatening to kill people.
Responding officers confronted the man, later identified as 39-year-old Lowell resident Jose Perez, who they say was armed with a meat cleaver and another large knife. They shot him when they say he ignored commands to drop the weapons and advanced toward them.
"I guess he was lunging down the stairs when he was shot," neighbor Ron Gibson told WBZ-TV's Paul Burton. "(He) ended up halfway out of the building."
A neighbor told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe he heard three gunshots, and then saw police trying to revive a man on the front lawn of the home.
.@LowellPD shot a man wielding a knife/threatening to kill everyone in this Cambridge St home. #wbz #Lowell #wbznews pic.twitter.com/8pJhKRQoqm
— Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) March 27, 2016
"It sounded like bang, bang, bang," neighbor Sheila Proulx told WBZ.
Perez was transported to Lowell General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"It's very sad," Gibson said.
Right now it's still unclear what sparked the dispute. People who live inside the apartment left the building without comment.
Neighbors say the family moved in just this past year. Now, they are dealing with a deadly shooting on Easter Sunday.
"I've been here 27 years and this is the first time anything like this has happened. It's a very quiet area," Proulx said.
Two officers also went to the hospital with stress-related injuries. They have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, as is department policy.
Police continue to investigate the incident.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe reports
WBZ-TV's Paul Burton and WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe contributed to this report.