A man who was fatally shot Saturday by police in Nashville, Tennessee, after charging an officer with two butcher knives was wanted on a murder charge.
Marvin Veiga, 32, was wanted in Massachusetts in connection to the death of Manuel Duarte in the state. A warrant was issued for his arrest on March 6, and he was added to the state’s most wanted fugitives list.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified Veiga on Monday.
Officer Christopher Royer was on a routine patrol at night when he checked a car’s plates. Seeing that they were registered to a car not fitting the description of the one he was looking at, he decided to pull the car over, Metro Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said, according to the Nashville Tennessean.
During the stop, the driver remained cooperative, but Veiga, a passenger of the vehicle, got out and began running around with two butcher knives, at one point attempting to get into Royer’s patrol car.
As seen in body camera footage of the incident, Royer, outside of the vehicle, can be heard telling Veiga to drop the knives.
“I don’t want to shoot you,” he said.
Veiga then ran toward him. Royer fired multiple shots as he approached, and Veiga collapsed to the ground.
Law enforcement said Veiga later died at the hospital.
Five officers rendered aid to Veiga, Police Chief John Drake told reporters.
“He did everything he could, I felt. He retreated. He asked the individual to drop the weapon several times,” Drake added. “He was left with no choice.”
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The Nashville outlet reports that the Saturday police-involved shooting marks the third one in the city this year.
The incident occurred nearly a week after the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. Chauvin was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder, one count of third-degree murder, and one count of second-degree manslaughter.
