Massachusetts

DA: Man Holding Knife Shot by Police in Brockton, Massachusetts

An investigation is ongoing in Brockton, Massachusetts after police opened fire on a man who was allegedly wielding a knife.

Witnesses told The Enterprise they saw a man holding a knife, threatening to hurt himself outside an apartment building on North Main Street just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

"He said he was gonna hurt himself as went outside with a knife and he just said, 'you gonna shoot me,'" recalled the man's friend, Judith Candelora. "And they shot him."

The newspaper reported the man was shot twice in the upper body. 

The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office said the man, identified Monday as George A. Baron, 51, of Brockton, was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital and then Brigham and Women's Hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

Candelora told NBC10 Boston the incident should have ended differently.

"He’s OK, he went into surgery and he’s doing fine," she said.

Baron is well known in the neighborhood. Neighbors said they wished the officers didn't have to use a weapon.

"It’s not fair to him, but it’s also not fair to an officer when they’re trying to protect and serve," neighbor Susan Jackson said.

The district attorney's office is conducting a review of the shooting.

The shooting came after a string of violence in the city over the weekend.

On Saturday, police said a 24-year-old man was shot in his vehicle near Woodland Avenue. He later died from his injuries.

On Friday, a 71-year-old man was struck by a stray bullet while sleeping in his home. He is expected to be OK.

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