A man killed by Redwood City police after allegedly charging at officers with a knife on Monday morning was a teacher at Frank S. Greene Middle School in the Palo Alto Unified School District.
Police responded to 33-year-old Kyle Hart's home in the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue after his wife called 911 at 8:47 a.m. Monday to report Hart had attempted to kill himself. The woman was covered in blood when officers arrived and directed them to the backyard of the home.
Officers encountered Hart carrying a butcher knife in the side yard and tried to get him to drop it. He refused and allegedly ran at officers, who said they used a Taser stun gun in an attempt to subdue him.
The stun gun didn't work and an officer shot Hart, police said. He was taken to a hospital and succumbed to his injuries, which included self-inflicted wounds to his arms and neck area, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
On Tuesday, community members created a GoFundMe donation page to support Hart's wife, his son and his barely week-old daughter. The page has raised more than $136,000 in one day.
Dozens of comments on the page remembered Hart, who taught eighth-grade social studies, as their child's favorite teacher. Parents and colleagues said he truly cared about his students, and was a generous, warm individual.
"To anyone who knew him, Kyle was an incredible father, husband, son, brother, teacher, and friend," the page's creators wrote. "He was the most sincere man each of us had ever met. He was the kind of person who would give you a hug and tell you how much he appreciated your friendship."
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Hart also previously taught at other schools in the area, commenters said. He attended University of California at Santa Barbara and received his master's degree in education in 2010, according to university records.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is currently investigating the shooting. Wagstaffe said the officer who shot Hart and the one who fired the Taser are both on paid administrative leave, as is routine for police shootings.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to call the office at (650) 363-4636.
