Police officer fatally shoots knife-wielding man in Sunnyvale

Police say they were forced to shoot the man after he refused to drop the weapon.

Sunnyvale police fatally shot a man they say was holding a knife and advancing on an officer.

Officers were responding to a call around 5:30 p.m. Saturday about a man carrying a knife at a mobile home park on Vienna Drive, off Tasman Drive and Lawrence Expressway, according to a Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety (DSPS) press release.

“Upon arrival, officers located an adult male in the roadway who was armed with a knife in his hand. The officers gave the subject commands to stay where he was and to place the knife on the ground,” DSPS said in the statement. “The subject ignored the officers’ repeated commands and advanced on one of the officers. An officer discharged his firearm, striking the subject.”

Police said officers immediately performed first aid measures and the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he  died.

Sunnyvale police Capt. Dzanh Le declined to give further comments on the case.

“This incident is an ongoing joint investigation conducted by DSPS and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office,” the department said.

Anyone with more information regarding the incident is asked to contact Detective G. Limon at 408-730-7110.