A homeless man armed with knives during an attack near the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Tuesday allegedly “heard voices” before he was shot dead by out-of-state police officers.
The suspect, identified as 43-year-old Samuel Sharpe Jr., of Milwaukee, was apparently swinging two steak knives at another person and possibly at police as well, not far from the Fiserv Forum, the arena hosting the RNC.
Cops from Columbus, Ohio, brought in to beef up security following last weekend’s assassination attempt on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, were being briefed about police operations and noticed the commotion.
Bodycam footage released by the Columbus Police Department showed officers pointing out that a shirtless man has a knife.
“He has a knife! Yes, he does!” one officer shouts as police run to the scene, while other cops yell for the man to drop the weapons.
The bodycam video shows the armed man ran toward the other person, which prompted cops to fire their weapons. The man died at the scene.
Edward Watkins, a fellow homeless man who witnessed the fatal shooting, said the victim was living at a large tent city near the arena for the last few months and was known in the community as “Sam” and “Jehovah.”
“He just told me he was having these thoughts in his head,” Watkins told the New York Post. “And he said, ‘Jehovah’s coming down.’ And I believed him, because I hear voices, too.
“So when he ran toward the front with the knives, I knew he was ready to go.”
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson believes the fatal shooting wasn’t connected to the RNC.
“No one, absolutely no one, wanted this outcome and I anticipate a full as well as thorough investigation,” Johnson said Wednesday morning, according to Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW.