Police said officers fatally shot a man threatening them with a butcher knife following a stabbing in southern California last week, but the man's family is seeking answers.
According to a Huntington Park Police statement, officers encountered a victim with knife wounds who described a Black male in a wheelchair assaulting them. The victim told police the attack was unprovoked. Although the victim ended up with life-threatening injuries, they could point officers toward a suspect.
The police statement said it then encountered the suspect, who advocates identify as 36-year-old Anthony Lowe. He was reportedly armed with a 12-inch butcher knife. The police statement claimed that Lowe ignored commands to drop the knife, threatened police with the weapon and a stun gun was ineffective before officers fatally shot him.
Police have not released body camera footage of the incident, which can sometimes differ from the official account given by police.
An unclear cellphone video posted on social media of the incident indicated Lowe attempted to run from police before getting shot. Footage of the actual shooting has not surfaced as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Coalition for Community Control Over the Police held a news conference outside police headquarters on Monday, calling for answers.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Lowe had his legs amputated after a previous altercation with police
"They murdered my son, in a wheelchair with no legs," mother Dorothy Lowe told reporters. "They do need to do something about it."
A spokesperson for the family told CBS News that Lowe was undergoing a mental health crisis at the time of the incident.
The officers were placed on administrative leave. The Huntington Park Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department – Homicide Bureau, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office are all investigating the incident.
The victim of the original stabbing remained in critical condition, as of Monday.
