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Police in Robbinsdale, Minn., shot and killed a man Friday morning who allegedly refused to drop a knife.

The city’s Police Department says its officers tried to stop a vehicle before the shooting in a residential neighborhood because the owner of the car had an outstanding felony arrest warrant. There was a brief chase. 

Police say officers ordered the man, identified as white, to drop the knife and used a Taser before shooting him. Police said he was being aggressive toward them. 

A video posted earlier in the day on social media, shot from a block away, shows police with guns drawn, then someone running, seemingly toward an officer. Then three shots are heard on the video.

A man, who witnessed the incident but asked MPR News not to use his name for privacy reasons, said police attempted to pull over the pickup at a gas station on 36th Avenue, but the driver sped away. 

"And then about a block and a half, two blocks north of my house, they performed what seemed to be the PIT maneuver and then they appeared to box the suspect in," the witness said.

The witness said he heard what sounded like a Taser and then gunshots.

The Robbinsdale police statement says officers tried to save the man’s life, but he died at the scene. There was another person in the man’s car who was not injured, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says. No officer was injured, either. BCA investigators said they recovered a knife at the scene.

Ashton Penister, who lives nearby, said his dog started barking and then he heard commotion outside.

“I did hear some noise, but I wasn't initially thinking gunshots,” Penister said. “Just because where I am I didn't think 'oh someone's letting off some rounds.' I just thought it was just something random — just some random noise.”

The man who died will be identified after the Hennepin County Medical Examiner has notified family and performed an autopsy.

The BCA said at least one body camera recorded the shooting, and it will determine if squad cameras have additional footage. The agency will identify the officers later. 

Crime, Law and Justice

MPR News Staff

Author

Robbinsdale police say their officers fatally shot a man with a knife Friday morning after a brief vehicle chase in a residential neighborhood.

Robbinsdale police officers fatally shoot man with knife

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