(7/18) — UPDATED 19:36 PDT — A knife-wielding man, who threatened police Saturday morning and shouted “shoot me”, was shot and killed by five police officers — three from Oakland Police and two from BART Police — in East Oakland, authorities said.
The shooting happened at 8:24 a.m. near the intersection of 33st Street and E. 18th Street in the city’s Fruitvale District — just blocks away from the Fruitvale BART station. Oakland Police identified the man Sunday afternoon as Fred Collins, 48, of Oakland.
Oakland Police said they received 911 calls reporting a man nearby the Fruitvale BART station who was believed to have been carrying weapons. Collins was encountered by two BART Police officers who attempted to subdue the man before he led them on a foot chase through the Fruitvale District commercial corridor.
The two BART officers were joined by three Oakland Police officers who attempted to Tase Collins twice while ordering him to drop two knives he was brandishing at the officers, police said.
After the failed attempts at using the taser, authorities said Collins lunged at one of the officers while holding the knives in his hand.
Police opened fire on the man. Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots in the area. Collins died at the scene.
Investigators from both agencies searched for evidence in the East Oakland neighborhood all day Saturday. Oakland Police said they were leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting. BART said Saturday afternoon that their organization was also launching a “parallel investigation” into the shooting.
The three Oakland officers have been placed on administrative leave. BART did not release the status of the two officers involved in the incident.
The shooting happened near the Fruitvale BART station — the scene of another officer-involved shooting incident that claimed the life of unarmed train passenger Oscar Grant in January 2009. The former BART Police officer who shot Grant was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a high-profile trial that was moved to Los Angeles because of the intense publicity it received in Alameda County.
