Boston knife-wielder said to pose ‘very serious threat’

A man shot to death by law enforcement officers in Boston this week posed a deadly threat to police, according to the city’s top officer.

A day after 26-year-old Usaama Rahim was shot to death by five officers, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans maintained that video evidence of the encounter showed the police and FBI officials appeared to be acting in self-defense.

{mosads}“Our officers went out there to only question the individual, because the level of our concern rose to the level that we needed to question him,” Evans said at a press conference on Wednesday. “We never anticipated what his reaction would be and that he would pull out, obviously, a military knife and approach the officers.”

“It was a very serious threat,” he added.

On Tuesday morning, the team of law enforcement officers shot Rahim dead after he reportedly pulled out a knife and began to approach them.

Rahim was under constant surveillance by an anti-terrorism task force and was believed to have been plotting an attack on law enforcement officers — possibly with the encouragement of sympathizers of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — police have said. Officials reportedly attempted to question him on Tuesday.

“What the video clearly shows is the weapons aren’t clearly visible, but you can clearly see officers approach the suspect with no weapons drawn, then all of sudden you can see FBI agents and Boston PD retreating,” Evans said on Wednesday.

“They would never be retreating unless there was an imminent threat,” he added.

Evans said officers backpedaled about 15 to 20 yards before opening fire.

On Tuesday evening, another man was reportedly arrested on federal charges in connection with the shooting, and police searched a property in Rhode Island in a move believed to be related to the shooting.