Police stop man from killing his girlfriend on Valentine's Day
Police broke through a window the night of Valentine’s Day to save a woman whose boyfriend was trying to kill her.
A neighbor called 911 just before 7 p.m. Feb. 14 to report he could hear a physical fight in the townhome next to his in the 3800 block of NW 94th Street. When the officers went to the front door, they could hear a woman inside pleading for help and yelling that she couldn’t breathe.
All outside doors to the townhome were locked, so the officers tried to kick in the front door to get to her, and when that wasn’t successful, they went to the back. As they tried to get in the back sliding glass door, the victim was able to make her way to it and tried to unlock if for officers. Officers then saw the suspect push her away from the door. He held a knife to his own throat, threatening to kill himself. An officer then kicked in a window that was next to the back door. The suspect moved away from the back door at that point and toward the kitchen, where he picked up a second knife. The victim took that opportunity to open the back door for officers.
The suspect was still holding a knife to his neck when he decided to walk out the front door. An officer deployed his Taser and struck the armed suspect as he came out. Officers were able to get the 29-year-old man safely into custody.
Police were then able to ask the 34-year-old victim what happened. She said she was trying to leave the situation when her boyfriend physically stopped her. He got a knife and threatened to kill himself, then he chased her with the knife. He threw her to the ground, so she began screaming for help and banging on the walls, hoping a neighbor would hear her. The suspect covered her mouth and nose to stop her from screaming.
The suspect was transported to the hospital to remove the Taser probes and to get a mental health evaluation. Police connected the victim to domestic violence resources.
If you need help escaping a domestic violence situation, call 816-HOTLINE or see this list of resources.