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Man With Knife Killed By Lexington Police After Threatening Another Person And Officer

LEXINGTON (CBS) -- A man was shot and killed by Lexington Police on Saturday afternoon after allegedly threatening another person and a police officer with a knife.

The man killed, who has not been publicly identified yet, lived on Hancock Street at a house run by Eliot Community Services. Officers were aware that it was a group home for residents dealing with mental health issues.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said shortly after 12:30 p.m. that a jogger going past the house saw a man in the window begging people to call the police. The man in the window said someone inside was trying to kill him. The jogger then called Lexington Police.

When officers arrived, they found a 35-year-old resident of the house on the driveway. Ryan said the man was carrying a knife. Officers asked him to drop the knife, but he did not do so.

"He continued to advance forward on the property, out into the street. At that point, the officers continued those demands to put the knife down," Ryan said. "They continued to try and create distance between themselves and the individual with the knife. Despite the repeated requests to put down the knife, the man declined to do that."

One officer fired non-lethal beanbag rounds that caused the man to fall, but he was able to get back up.

A Lexington officer then fell to the ground, and the man moved towards the officer with the knife in his hand.

According to Ryan, that's when a fellow officer shot him.

"When the man with the knife advanced on that officer who had fallen, another Lexington officer fired their service weapon, striking the man," Ryan said.

He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced.

As of early Saturday evening, the investigation is still active and ongoing.

It is still unclear how many shots were fired by police. Ryan is asking witnesses to come forward to tell police what they saw.

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