A man was fatally shot by police after holding a knife to a woman’s throat at an apartment complex near 83rd Avenue and Indian School Road, Phoenix police said.
At about 8:05 p.m. on Oct. 11, police received a radio dispatch about a fight between a man and a woman, according to police spokesperson Sgt. Phil Krynsky.
When officers arrived, they found a man pinning a woman to the ground with a knife to her throat, Krysnky said. Despite multiple commands to drop the weapon, the man did not comply, according to Krynsky.
“The man continued to hold the knife by the woman’s throat and the officer involved shooting occurred,” Krynsky said.
After the shooting, an officer took the woman to safety, he said. The fire department responded and determined the man had died.
The man was in his late 40s, but he did not release his name or any other identifying details, as of Oct. 12. There were no injuries to community members or officers, Krynsky said.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety’s major incident division will be investigating the shooting, according to Krynsky.
It was recently announced that Phoenix police officers would participate in a department-wide refresher on use of force policies and de-escalation training.
Additionally, officers involved in a shooting will participate in training focused on de-escalation, communication, tactics, officer safety, use of force and supervisory oversight within 30 days.
There have been at least 61 police shootings in Arizona so far in 2025, with at least 43 of them fatal.
The Republic’s Elena Santa Cruz contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police shoot and kill man holding knife to woman’s throat