A man who allegedly wielded a knife while complaining about loud music at a Houston graduation party over the weekend was shot and killed by a responding police officer, according to the Houston Police Department.
As of late Monday morning, the man's identity had not been released by either HPD or the Harris County medical examiner's office. The man was believed to be in 60s or 70s, according to HPD spokesperson John Cannon, who said the man might have lived close to where the shooting occurred, in the 100 block of Palmyra Street in the Northside area.
The name of the officer who fatally shot the man also had not been released by HPD as of late Monday morning. Per department protocol, the officer has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the shooting, and footage from his body-worn camera will be released within 30 days.
Police were called to a home on Palmyra a little after 11 p.m. Saturday after the now-deceased man had allegedly shown up to the party while holding a knife and was "yelling and ranting and raving, claiming the music was too loud," HPD executive assistant chief Ban Tien told reporters at the scene. The man initially left but returned to the party and again displayed the knife while one of two responding officers was there gathering information, Tien said.
"(The officer) ordered them to put down the knife multiple times. The male refused to comply on multiple occasions," Tien said. "As the officer continued to back up, to position himself to create a distance, the male continued to advance toward them, up until the point that the officer backed into a vehicle, where he couldn't back up anymore. The officer subsequently dispatched his firearm at least once, striking the male multiple times."
Apologies for our audio issues in the first 2:30 of our initial media briefing. Executive Asst. Chief Tien speaks on the incident here:#hounews https://t.co/Awi12QuqW4 pic.twitter.com/NUZjZGso4y
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) May 14, 2023
Tien said the HPD officer tried to administer first aid in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, but the man was transported to a hospital and later died, according to Tien.
Cannon said only the officer who shot the man, and not the other HPD officer who responded to the scene of the graduation party, has been placed on administrative leave.
"All the information I have is just a snapshot of what we have," Tien told reporters early Sunday, when the investigation into the shooting was in its early stages. "We'll continue to go through all the evidence, interview all the witnesses and canvas the location for perhaps additional surveillance video. We do encourage anyone with any footage, any cell phone cameras, anybody that witnessed the incident to come forward and let us know."
Saturday night's shooting marked the second time in 10 days that an HPD officer used deadly force while responding to a disturbance call. Edgar De Leon, 46, was shot and killed by police on the afternoon of May 3 after allegedly exhibiting erratic, threatening behavior while at a relative's house at 413 Rouse St. in the Denver Harbor area.
