Knife-wielding man shot and wounded by state trooper during confrontation in Malden, police say

Mass State Police investigated the scene in Malden after a police involved shooting Thursday afternoon.Matthew J. Lee/Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

A state trooper shot a 62-year-old Malden man in that city Thursday after he allegedly refused repeated commands to drop a knife he was carrying and struggled with the trooper and a local officer, State Police said.

The incident began around noon, when the man, whom officials didn’t identify, was reported to be “acting erratically” at a Stop & Shop on Squire Road in Revere, said State Police spokesman David Procopio.

He was asked to leave, Procopio said, and he began walking west toward Malden.

Procopio said the man crossed into Malden onto Beach Street, and a 911 call later came in reporting a man with a knife on that street at the intersection with Lynn Street on the Revere-Malden line.

A trooper assigned to the State Police Salvage Title Section spotted the man and repeatedly told him “to drop the knife while he walked alongside him as the suspect continued to walk in a westerly direction,” Procopio said.

A few minutes later, Procopio said, a Malden officer arrived and along with the trooper “continued to walk alongside the suspect telling him to drop the knife. The suspect did not comply.”

Once the trio reached the intersection of Beach and Oliver streets a couple blocks to the west, the trooper and officer tried to “physically restrain the man and take him into custody. The suspect resisted and struggled with the officers,” Procopio said.

During the confrontation, Procopio said, the trooper “discharged his weapon. The suspect was struck by the discharge but continued to be combative even after being wounded. The officers were ultimately able to physically subdue him and place him into custody.”

State Police Colonel Christopher Mason had said at an earlier briefing at the scene Thursday that the officers had attempted “hand control techniques" to disarm the man before he was shot.

“The suspect was transported to MGH with serious injuries," Procopio said. “At last update he was stable."

“We are not releasing the suspect’s name at this time,” Procopio said. “As in all instances of use of lethal force by police in Massachusetts, the district attorney will review the incident to determine if the use of force was appropriate.”

Mason said the wounded man was charged with one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Authorities “recovered a knife from the suspect,” Procopio said.

The Malden case is the fourth police shooting in the Boston area in recent weeks. A man was shot and wounded by Everett police on Tuesday and Winchester and Lynn police fatally shot two men on the same day in separate cases.

The police shooting in Lynn is under investigation by Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office, and the Winchester and Everett cases are being investigated by Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office.

Procopio said Ryan has referred the Malden shooting probe “to the Bristol County DA to avoid any appearance of a conflict, because the Trooper involved in the incident was formerly assigned to the State Police Detective Unit attached to the Middlesex DA’s Office.”