Suspect shot and killed after stabbing officer in Santa Monica: police

A man was shot and killed after police said he stabbed a Santa Monica officer in an unprovoked attack Saturday night. 

At around 5:21 p.m., an officer was standing outside the Santa Monica police station while speaking to a citizen.

The suspect, identified only as a man in his early 30s, approached the officer.

Authorities said the officer asked the man to wait his turn as he was speaking to the other citizen. That’s when the suspect reportedly pulled a large knife from his clothing and “slashed and stabbed the officer.”

The victim immediately backed away and armed himself with his weapon as the man reportedly followed him around a corner. At that point, the officer fired shots at the suspect, fatally wounding him, officials said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer was transported to the hospital with stab wounds but is expected to survive.

“I can’t tell you enough how disappointed I am to see that this attack, unprovoked, occurred on our streets,” said Santa Monica police chief Ramon Batista at a Saturday night press conference. “In Santa Monica, we pride ourselves on keeping our streets safe. Unfortunately, we’ve had a very serious series of events that have occurred in our city since this summer. Nonetheless, our officers are going to continue the work of going out there and providing public safety to our residents.”

An internal investigation will be conducted on the incident by the Santa Monica Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information on the case or the suspect is asked to call the Watch Commander at 310-458-8427.