Local
Man fatally shot by Norristown police after knife confrontation in Elmwood Park
Two Norristown officers shot and killed a man who authorities say advanced toward them with a large knife in Elmwood Park Friday night, following reports he was trying to set vehicles on fire near railroad tracks. The Montgomery County District Attorney's office is investigating under the county's officer-involved shooting protocol.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. â A man was shot and killed by Norristown police Friday night after authorities say he confronted officers with a large knife in Elmwood Park, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's office.
The encounter began shortly after 9 p.m. when police responded to reports of a person attempting to set vehicles on fire near railroad tracks in the 1200 block of Stanbridge Street, District Attorney Kevin Steele said.
Responding officers located a man armed with a large knife in Elmwood Park, Steele said. According to the district attorney, the man threatened the officers and advanced toward them while holding the weapon. As he continued to approach, two officers fired their weapons and struck him.
Police rendered aid at the scene, but the man was pronounced dead there. Authorities have not released his identity, citing the need to notify family members first.
No officers were injured in the incident.
Under Montgomery County's protocol for all officer-involved shootings, the case is being investigated by county detectives rather than the police department involved. The district attorney's office has not indicated whether the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, a step many departments take following fatal uses of force.
The shooting is the latest in a series of officer-involved incidents in the region to fall under county-level review. Community members in Norristown and across Montgomery County have in recent years pressed for greater transparency in such investigations, including timely release of body-worn camera footage and public accounting of the circumstances that lead officers to use deadly force.
Anyone with information about the events leading up to the shooting is asked to contact Montgomery County Detectives. The investigation remains active, and no further details about the officers involved or the sequence of events have been released.