SANTA MONICA, California. — A Southern California officer shot and killed a man who stabbed him with a knife outside the city’s police headquarters in what authorities called an “unprovoked attack.”
A man in his 30s approached the officer outside the front doors of the Santa Monica Police Department around 5:20 p.m. Saturday, officials said. The man was told he would have to wait until the officer finished speaking to a resident.
“Without warning, the individual attacked the police officer by pulling a knife from his clothes. The suspect slashed and stabbed the officer,” the department said in a statement posted on the social media site X.
The officer drew his gun and retreated around the corner of the building as the man continued his attack, according to the police statement. The officer then shot the man, the department said.
Santa Monica police and firefighters provided emergency medical aid, but the man died at the scene, according to the release.
The officer was hospitalized in stable condition with “very serious” injuries and is expected to survive, Police X later said.
Santa Monica police and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office will investigate, the department said.
