A quick update: Shooting at Hancock St.

Readers, 

We know you don’t usually hear from us twice in one day — we decided that the shooting at Hancock St. today warranted a quick email summarizing what we know so far. We expect to report more on this in our regular newsletter next week, and you can reach out to sophie@lexobserver.org or 617-953-5260 if you were in the neighborhood when this happened today and want to share your experience.

Middlesex County’s District Attorney Marian Ryan delivered a press conference around 5:30 p.m. today. You can watch the five-minute conference and read our Twitter summary here — this is what she said about what happened:

  • Shortly after 12:30 p.m., a jogger saw a man in the window of house at 98 Hancock St. “begging people to call the police, saying there was a man who was trying to kill him,” Ryan said. The jogger called 911; the Lexington police arrived; and a 35-year old man met them in the driveway, brandishing a knife.
  • The Lexington police repeatedly asked the man to drop the knife, and tried to deescalate, Ryan said; he refused, and advanced out into the street toward them with the knife.
  • Police then shot non-lethal bean bag-type rounds to knock man down; he was knocked down a few times, but repeatedly got back up, Ryan said.
  • At one point when the man got up again, a Lexington police officer fell down; the man holding the knife advanced on that officer; and another officer then fired his service weapon at the man, who later died in the hospital from his injuries.
  • The DA is calling on anyone who was in this area around 12:30 p.m. Saturday and saw anything to please come forward with information by contacting the Lexington Police Department — the investigation remains “active and ongoing, in its earliest stages,” Ryan said.
  • The man killed who had wielded the knife was a resident of the Hancock St. house operated by Eliot Community Human Services, where three residents are visited periodically by nurses and other staff, the DA clarified responding to a question.
  • Unclear whether there was a single shot or more fired — that’s still part of investigation. And at least some officers were transported to hospital.

Again, if you want to talk to LexObserver this week about what happened, you can email sophie@lexobserver.org or call 617-953-5260. Sorry to interrupt your Saturday evening, and hoping everyone stays safe.

The LexObserver Team

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