D.C. police shoot man after officer stabbed during mental health call

D.C. police said officers shot an armed man Saturday after authorities accused the suspect of stabbing a police officer in the neck during a mental health crisis.

Metropolitan Police Second District Commander Tatjana Savoy said the suspect, who wasn’t identified, was taken into custody and was in stable condition at a hospital following the incident in the 2400 block of Virginia Avenue Northwest.

Police said the wounded officer was treated at the scene.

Cmdr. Savoy said officers arrived at the scene around 10:40 a.m. Saturday after a friend of the suspect reported the man was “going through a mental health episode.”

Department of Behavioral Health workers were called in to check on the man, authorities said, and the DBH workers determined he needed to be arrested.

Cmdr. Savoy said officers moved to detain the suspect when he pulled out a knife and stabbed an officer in the neck.

Another officer used a Taser on the suspect, but police said it didn’t subdue the man. Cmdr. Savoy said an officer then shot the man and authorities took him into custody.

The suspect is facing charges of assault on a police officer.

Four MPD officers are on leave while police investigate the shooting, Cmdr. Savoy said.