Police: Texas officers shoot man who approached with knife

Police lights. (KPRC/File)

SAN ANGELO, Texas – Police in the West Texas community of San Angelo fatally shot a man early Sunday after he approached officers with a knife during a domestic violence call, a police spokesman said.

Around 12:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to a home in the city 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Dallas after getting a call about a man who was punching a woman inside. They arrived to find the woman and 38-year-old Adam Lee Mendez, police spokesman Josh Schultz said in a news release.

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Schultz said “an altercation ensued” and Mendez displayed a knife, leading officers to utilize what he described only as "less lethal devices.” That failed to stop Mendez and, ignoring the officers commands, he began approaching them, so they shot him, Schultz said.

Mendez was taken to a hospital, where he died, Schultz said. The officers were not injured and have been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the shooting by the Texas Rangers, Schultz said.

Schultz did not immediately respond to emailed questions on Sunday, including about the heath of the woman and names of the officers involved.


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