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Man Being Monitored By Terror Investigators Is Fatally Shot By Law Enforcement In Boston

Authorities examine evidence at the scene of a fatal shooting Tuesday morning in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Authorities examine evidence at the scene of a fatal shooting Tuesday morning in Boston. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

A man who was under surveillance by terrorism investigators was shot and killed by law enforcement officials in Boston Tuesday morning, after police say he lunged at the officials with a "military-style knife."

The incident happened at 7 a.m. outside a CVS in the city's Roslindale neighborhood. Officials say a Boston officer and an FBI agent approached the man to question him there, when he tried to attack them.

The knife police recovered from the scene (Courtesy BPD)
The knife police recovered from the scene (Courtesy BPD)

"He turned, the officers asked, again gave several commands for him to drop the weapon, and unfortunately he came at the officers and they did what they were trained to do," Boston Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters Tuesday morning.

Later, at a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Evans identified the man as Usaama Rahim, 26, of Roslindale.

Evans said after Rahim lunged at the law enforcement officials, both his officer and the FBI agent fired on Rahim. Evans said police believe he was hit twice — in the torso and in the abdomen.

"Both the FBI and the BPD did everything they could possibly do to drop this knife," Evans said, "and at some point, unfortunately, we had to take his life."

Rahim was brought to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he died.

At the afternoon briefing, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said the Boston cop and the FBI agent, who have not been named, approached Rahim without their guns drawn.

Rahim was under 24-hour surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force, according to Vincent Lisi, the FBI's special agent in charge of Boston.

Lisi said he could not comment on why Rahim was under investigation. Lisi added that there's currently no concern for public safety.

The officer and the FBI agent were also evaluated at a Boston hospital for what Evans described as "stress."

Conley said his office will investigate, as it always does, whether deadly force was justified by the two law enforcement officials.

Also Tuesday, authorities were investigating a house on Linden Street in Everett in connection with the case.

With reporting by WBUR's Benjamin Swasey and the WBUR Newsroom

Authorities investigate a house on Linden Street in Everett in connection with the case. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Authorities investigate a house on Linden Street in Everett in connection with the case. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Earlier updates when it was a developing story:

Updated at 10:30 a.m.: The AP makes a quick correction: Both the Boston cop and the FBI agent opened fire on the suspect when he lunged at them, police say, and "it's not clear who killed the man."

WBUR's Fred Thys has a photo of the scene:

Updated at 9:35 a.m.: The Associated Press has more details:

A man under surveillance by terrorism investigators has been shot and killed by a Boston police officer.

...

[Police Commissioner William Evans] said the man was under surveillance by the Joint Terrorism Task Force. His name was not made public.

Evans says when a city officer and FBI agent approached the man to talk to him he pulled a military-style knife and lunged at them.

Updated at 9:20 a.m.: The suspect shot by a Boston police officer has died, a police spokesperson said. He was carrying a "military style knife," the spokesperson said.

Our original Associated Press post:

Boston police say an officer shot and seriously injured a suspect in the parking lot of a pharmacy.

The officer shot the suspect outside a CVS store in the city's Roslindale neighborhood at about 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The suspect suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The officer was also taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

The shooting is under investigation. No other information was immediately available.

This article was originally published on June 02, 2015.

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