Trending Topics

Calif. police fatally shoot man who pulled knife on contractors

The man chased two men with a knife, attempting to stab them, when a witness called police

By Henry Lee
San Francisco Chronicle

FREMONT - A knife-wielding man shot dead by Fremont police was identified Sunday as 48-year-old Zaki Shinwary of Hayward.

Shinwary was shot about 2:15 p.m. Friday on Lake Arrowhead Avenue near Sylvester Harvey Park west of Interstate 880, authorities said.

The incident began when police were sent to investigate reports that a man had pulled a knife on two contractors on the street, said Geneva Bosques, a Fremont police spokeswoman.

Shinwary confronted one of the contractors, a 54-year-old man, and chased him as he ran behind a tree, Bosques said. The second contractor, a 21-year-old man, heard his co-worker yelling and came to his aid, police said.

Shinwary’s attention immediately went to the younger contractor, and the suspect chased him behind a car, Bosques said.

“The suspect continually tried to stab both” with a knife that had a six-inch blade, Bosques said.

The man eventually left, but a person who witnessed the confrontation called police.

Officers arrived and found Shinwary. One officer fired a Taser shock weapon at the suspect while a second officer fired his gun, officials said.

The suspect died at the scene. He was previously arrested by Fremont police on Jan. 8 for being under the influence of drugs near Lowry Road and Lark Way, less than a mile from where he was killed.

The shooting is under investigation by police and the Alameda County district attorney’s office.

Copyright 2015 the San Francisco Chronicle