Authorities said the man had called 911 from a Hemenway Street apartment before he stabbed an officer and injured an EMS clinician.
BOSTON, MA — A man was shot and killed by Boston police Saturday after authorities said he attacked a police officer and an EMS clinician with a sword inside an apartment building near Northeastern University following a long effort to get him medical help.
The shooting quickly became more than another police response in a busy student area. It involved a 911 call, an apparent mental health crisis, injuries to first responders and a fatal use of force that is now under review by the Suffolk County district attorney. The confrontation also came after several violent incidents near the Northeastern campus over the past week, adding to concern in a neighborhood where students, longtime residents and emergency crews share tight streets and crowded apartment buildings.
Police Commissioner Michael Cox said officers were sent to the 200 block of Hemenway Street at about 10:44 a.m. Saturday after a caller reported that four people with a gun were trying to harm him. Officers went to the building and made contact with the caller through the door of an apartment. Cox said police and Boston EMS then spent about 35 to 45 minutes speaking with the man. An EMS clinician joined the effort, and responders concluded the man was in immediate need of care because he appeared to be suffering from a mental health crisis. As responders asked him to come out and accept help, Cox said, he opened the door holding a sword and struck the clinician and the officer standing outside. The officer was stabbed in the arm, and the clinician was knocked to the floor. One or more officers then used a Taser and fired a weapon, Cox said. EMS treated the man at the scene before he was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Authorities had not publicly identified the man by Sunday, and they had not said how many shots were fired or which officer fired the fatal rounds. Cox said several officers were hurt, though their injuries were not life-threatening. The stabbed officer was treated first with a tourniquet before being taken to a hospital. Kevin Hayden, the Suffolk County district attorney, said several officers and two EMS clinicians were taken to hospitals with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Boston EMS later said its injured workers were expected to recover. In a statement, the agency said, “Members of Boston EMS show up to save lives, not to be assaulted.” Cox described the encounter as sudden and chaotic after a lengthy attempt to calm the man and bring him out safely. Hayden said first responders had been trying to manage a difficult situation involving someone who appeared to be in severe mental distress. By late Saturday, authorities still had not released the man’s age, whether he lived alone or whether any body camera video would be made public during the early stage of the case.
The building sits at 212 Hemenway St., near student housing, classrooms and foot traffic around Northeastern University. That location gave the shooting an added jolt. The university sent an emergency alert telling people there was police activity at 212 Hemenway St. and that there was no active threat to campus, while urging them to avoid the area during the response. The message came after several other violent episodes around or near the campus in recent days, including a stabbing near East Village on April 1, a reported assault near Marino Center on March 28 and reports of gunfire near Gainsborough and Hemenway streets on April 1. University police have said those incidents were separate and that there was no sign the campus community was being targeted. Still, the series of events has unsettled students and neighbors. In campus interviews published before Saturday’s shooting, some students said they had been relying on friends and social media to piece together what was happening around them and wanted quicker, clearer alerts from the school and police.
The legal process now moves to the standard questions that follow any fatal police shooting, though authorities cautioned that answers may not come quickly. Hayden said his office is leading the investigation because an officer discharged a firearm. That review is expected to include interviews with the officers, EMS personnel and other witnesses, along with physical evidence from the hallway, dispatch records, radio traffic, medical findings and any available video. Investigators also will need to determine the sequence of force, including when the Taser was used and when the gunfire began. No criminal charges had been announced as of Sunday, and none are automatic in a case like this. The identities of the injured officer and the EMS workers also had not been released. Cox said the evidence will have to be pieced together over time before officials can present a full account. No court date or public evidentiary hearing had been scheduled by Sunday, though officials are expected to provide more information once relatives are notified and the early review is complete.
By Saturday afternoon, police vehicles and ambulances had crowded the intersection near Huntington Avenue and Forsyth Way as officers blocked off streets and investigators worked outside the building. Cox used a brief news conference to thank the responders and to express sympathy to both the injured personnel and the family of the man who died. “It’s a sad event for all those involved,” he said. Boston EMS struck a similar tone, saying the case showed the danger crews face when they arrive expecting to help someone in crisis. The neighborhood around Northeastern had already been tense from the week’s earlier violence, and the fresh police activity drew immediate attention from students heading through campus and nearby housing. Even with officials stressing that there was no continuing threat, the shooting left behind two parallel facts that will shape what comes next: first responders were hurt while trying to intervene, and a man who called for help ended the encounter dead.
As of Sunday, the man’s name had not been released, the injured responders were expected to survive and the district attorney’s investigation remained in its early stages. The next major milestone will be the release of additional findings by investigators, including the identities of those involved and a fuller timeline of the confrontation on April 4.
Author note: Last updated April 5, 2026.