An off-duty officer who was working at the store said the suspect, later identified as 33-year-old Latif Robinson, caught his attention while walking in because he appeared “out of it.”
The officer greeted him, but the suspect did not respond and kept walking into the store.
A few minutes later, the suspect was seen going behind the deli counter and grabbing a large butcher-style knife, Clark said.
The four off-duty, uniformed officers in the store were alerted and confronted the suspect in the customer area in front of the deli.
While officers were negotiating with the suspect, there were times when he would push the point of the knife into himself, police said.
A few minutes later, he put down the butcher-style knife and picked up a 12-inch serrated kitchen blade, Clark said.
Officers trying to negotiate with the suspect and offered him food, a place to stay, access to a hospital, money and a chance to charge his phone in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, according to Clark.
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