Police fatally shot a man in Oceanside Tuesday evening who they say lunged at officers with a sword.
Officers responded to a 911 call just after 6 p.m. following what police say was a fight between a father and son on Columbus Avenue.
"The son was very distraught. He had knives in his hand. He then put down those knives and picked up a samurai sword," says Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
Two Nassau officers were forced to shoot the 36-year-old after he lunged at them, according to police. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The two officers were sent to a hospital to be treated for trauma. A third officer was treated for injuries sustained in a car accident while responding to the scene. A fourth officer suffered a back injury while performing CPR on the man.
Police say the man's family told them he suffered from mental illness. They say the man's father does not blame the family for shooting his son.
"The dad was very supportive, understood and actually said the officers did everything they could to stop the son before they had to fire that weapon," says Ryder.
Ryder says the two officers involved in the shooting were among the first to respond to Monday night's deadly stabbing of a teen just blocks away.