Modesto police shoot man, 68, armed with knife
A police officer shot and critically wounded a 68-year-old man armed with a knife in a central Modesto house Thursday, authorities said.
The officer was one of two who had gone to the home on the 1200 block of Muirswood Way at about 2:30 p.m. to follow up on a felony investigation, Lt. Rick Armendariz said.
The man who was shot, a resident of the house, was reported to be in critical condition after surgery at a local hospital. His name was not released.
The officers — a plainclothes detective and a uniformed patrol officer — also were not identified, nor did police say which of them fired the shots.
The man armed himself with the knife during the visit and one officer responded to the threat by firing his gun, Armendariz said.
Details were not available on what happened just before the shooting or whether the resident had been involved in the felony the officers were investigating.
Following standard procedure, the officers have been placed on paid administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, Armendariz said.
Neither was injured, he said, and no one else was in the house at the time of the shooting.
The incident happened at a single-story house nearly a quarter-mile south of East Orangeburg Avenue and a quarter-mile west of Oakdale Road.
Jose Tamay, 15, who lives about a block to the north, said he heard five shots, then went outside and saw two police cars at the scene.
"I've been here since 2010, and it's a pretty good neighborhood," he said. "Nothing happens."
The owner listed on public records for the property could not be reached for comment Thursday evening.
Investigations will be conducted by the criminal and internal-affairs units at the Police Department and by the Stanislaus County district attorney's office, the standard procedure for officer-involved shootings, Armendariz said.
It was the second shooting involving a law enforcement officer in the county this month.
On July 4, a sheriff's deputy shot and killed a Turlock man who exchanged shots with law enforcement.
William Nazar, 43, died from at least one gunshot wound in the incident on the 400 block of Verduga Road.
Bee staff writer Erin Tracy can be reached at etracy@modbee.com or (209) 578-2366.
Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2385.
This story was originally published July 12, 2012 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Modesto police shoot man, 68, armed with knife."