Police shoot man accused of threatening officers with knife in New Jersey

HACKENSACK, N.J. (WABC) -- A man who authorities say was wielding a knife was shot and killed by police Thursday in Hackensack, New Jersey.

It happened just after 5 p.m. on Johnson Avenue.

The victim, 22-year-old Raymond Peralta-Iantigua, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center where he later died.

No officers were injured.

The shooting appears to have stemmed from a domestic violence incident. A long kitchen knife police say was held by Peralta-Iantigua was recovered at the scene.

He had been arguing with friends in his front yard, neighbors say.

"We heard some arguing going on the lawn over there, cursing and all. I don't know what happened, somebody said that he pulled a knife or something, ran, and then supposedly some cop shot him twice," a neighbor said.

Police say he was threatening police with the knife. The two shell casings from the police officer's gun were just several feet away from where Peralta-Iantigua was standing when he was shot.

"He was laying between a police car and that other car, and I saw about 10 guys surround him probably trying to do CPR and then they took him away in the ambulance," the neighbor said.

The story is eerily similar to the case of Elvin Diaz, a 24-year old man shot and killed by Hackensack police just three weeks ago after police were called to that scene because of a domestic dispute.

He also had a knife, according to police, though his own family doesn't believe that.

"They are just too trigger happy. I just think there was no precedent set the last time this happened. Nothing was done to the officers so they feel like they did the right thing," said Charles Vera, a relative.

Peralta, the man shot and killed by police Thursday, had been in the neighborhood for awhile.

So far, there is no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the police officers according to the prosecutor's office.