Palo Alto police say a suspect armed with a knife was killed Friday night when officers opened fire after the suspect charged at officers.
The man was identified by Palo Alto police on Monday as 31-year-old William David Raff. Lt. Zach Perron told NBC Bay Area Raff's death marks the first fatal shooting involving a Palo Alto police officer since 2002.
Officers responded about 9:15 p.m. to a home in the 600 block of Forest Avenue after receiving a phony 911 call intended to lure police to the area, authorities said Saturday.
"The suspect said that there was a person at the residence who wanted to harm someone, and provided a name of that alleged person. No one by that name was present," Palo Alto police said in a statement released Saturday afternoon.
JUST IN:Officer-involved shooting in Palo Alto near Middlefield and Forest. Suspect died at the hospital.@nbcbayarea pic.twitter.com/SM2lEPLBkS
— Ian Cull (@NBCian) December 26, 2015Palo Alto PD: officers responded to home on reports a person wanted to harm someone. When they arrived, that person charged at them w/ knife
— Ian Cull (@NBCian) December 26, 2015(Cont'd)
Palo Alto PD: no officers were injured. Santa Clara DA's office is on scene investigating alongside PAPD.
— Ian Cull (@NBCian) December 26, 2015As soon as police arrived, the suspect charged at the officers with a knife and was shot, police said.
The suspect was transported to the hospital and later died.
Authorities didn't release any information about the suspect, but the Mercury News is reporting the man was seeking treatment at a nearby mental health facility.
Local
No officers were injured during the incident.
Forest Avenue between Middlefield Road and Webster Street was closed as investigators with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office responded to the scene to conduct a parallel investigation with the Palo Alto Police Department.
In the 2002 case, a Palo Alto police officer and a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot 20-year-old Pedro Calderon of East Palo on Stanford Avenue, whom they suspected of burglary. No charges were filed against the officer or the deputy in that case.
