Boston police officer justified in shooting knife-wielding man to death inside Chick-fil-A, D.A. says

An off-duty Boston police officer was justified in shooting a knife-wielding man to death inside a Chick-fil-A last year, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced Wednesday.

The deadly shooting happened at the busy Copley Square restaurant on March 1, 2025. Hayden said 32-year-old Lemark Jaramillo had chased a 17-year-old boy into the restaurant and was trying to stab him in retaliation for a fight that happened moments before at a nearby Chipotle.

The district attorney released police body camera footage and witness interviews alongside the investigation report. According to Hayden, witnesses confirmed that Jaramillo ignored commands from Officer Jose Valenzuela to drop the knife.

Jaramillo was "literally about to plunge the knife into the youth's back" when the officer fired three shots, Hayden said.

"Officer Valenzuela fired his off-duty handgun in a lawful use of force that was necessary to prevent Mr. Jaramillo from killing or seriously wounding the younger male or anyone else," Hayden said in the report. "Therefore, I have determined that criminal charges against the officer are not warranted."   

Surveillance video from a neighboring liquor store showed panicked customers running out of the restaurant and onto Boylston Street as the incident unfolded. 

"It was scary," one teenage girl told WBZ-TV at the time. "He was like, 'put the knife down, sir.' Boom, that's when he shot him. It was fast."

Another bystander said he was walking by the restaurant with his girlfriend and dog when everyone came running out.

"Somebody yelled gunshot, gunshot and we all ran away," Paul Andresen said. "Definitely scary; I live only a couple of blocks away."