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San Diego police say man pointing knife at officers when he was shot

Man shot, killed in officer-involved shooting
Posted at 12:08 PM, Dec 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-12 20:28:44-05

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) -- The San Diego Police Department has identified the suspect shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting in Point Loma Sunday as Kyle Zahacefski, 24.

San Diego Police received several 911 calls around 6 a.m. regarding a man trying to break into homes in the Sunset Cliffs neighborhood.

Police say that when they arrived, Zahacefski was in the front yard of a home in the 1200 block of Trieste Drive.

Zahacefski began throwing bricks at the police officers. Next, he took off running and the officers lost sight of him.

Officers then heard sounds of glass breaking and they discovered a shattered glass door on a home in the neighborhood.

Believing the residents may have been in danger, they entered the house immediately and located the suspect in the kitchen.

Zahacefski grabbed a knife and pointed it at his throat. The officers ordered the man to drop the knife repeatedly but he refused. Instead, he pointed it at the officers and began walking quickly towards them.

One of the officers, later identified as Officer Richard Butera, fired several rounds from his AR-15 Rifle and another officer fired one round from his bean bag shotgun.

Officer Butera is a 15-year veteran of the department, according to SDPD. Butera has been involved in a total of four fatal shootings since 2013. The previous shootings were found to be justified. 

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Zahacefski was hit at least once by a bullet from the AR-15. Officers began performing first aid on him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Two adults were at home and sleeping during the incident. They were not harmed.

No officers were injured, according to Chief of Police Shelley Zimmerman.

There will be an investigation into the shooting per department policy.