PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A man who was allegedly attempting to break into homes was shot and killed by Philadelphia police following a confrontation in the Mayfair section of the city.
The incident began around 2:30 p.m. Friday when multiple 911 callers reported a man trying to enter homes on the 4100 block of Tyson Avenue.
Officers responding to the calls located the man in the 7000 block of Frankford Avenue, according to Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore.
Update on fatal police-involved shooting in Mayfair
Police said officers attempted to stop the man, but he fled on foot.
The pursuit ended in front of a business along Frankford Avenue, where a confrontation occurred between the man and two responding officers.
At some point during the encounter, both officers discharged their weapons, striking the man, police said.
Chopper 6 was over the scene after a Philadelphia police officer fired a weapon in Mayfair.
Video that’s being used as part of a police investigation shows an officer and a man, who appears to be holding something, involved in a scuffle outside a storage facility. Soon after, another officer runs over. Both officers draw their weapons, and then several shots are fired.
Witnesses describe seeing a man running up and down Frankford Avenue and hearing an officer repeatedly yelling, “Drop the knife,” and then they heard shots ring out.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Family members identified him as 26-year-old Jamir Cave. They say he was suffering from mental health issues.
“My son was innocent; he was innocent,” said the man’s mother, Ebony Boyd.
Relatives told Action News they reported Cave missing earlier Friday but said police never responded to their call. They also said Cave had recently been released from Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital.
“The neighbor on Tyson [Avenue] called police cause he was in her yard drinking water,” said Cave’s aunt, Moico Boyd.
Vanore said investigators recovered a knife near the man, but added that the investigation remains in its early stages.
“We have to change the narrative that ‘it was a gun found; it was a knife found.’ This killing is because of mental illness,” added Boyd. “I don’t know if they didn’t want to run after him, but ya’ll didn’t even tase him. That’s not right.”
Family members say they don’t believe Cave was armed.
No officers or bystanders were injured.
Police say body cameras were activated during the time of the shooting.
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