Chief: Man shot by police ran at 'full sprint' toward officer while holding sword over head

OXFORD, Mass. — A man shot by police in Massachusetts last weekend was holding a sword over his head and running at an officer at a “full sprint,” police said.

The 23-year-old man faces attempted murder and other charges in connection with the encounter in Oxford at about 6 a.m. Sunday, police Chief Anthony Saad said in a statement Tuesday.

The officer was in a marked cruiser but was not responding to a call when the suspect, on foot, abruptly entered the roadway and blocked the vehicle, Saad said.

The suspect, an Oxford resident, advanced on the cruiser while swinging the sword, so the officer put his vehicle into reverse “to create distance between him and the defendant," Saad said.

When the officer could not back up any farther due to traffic, he stepped out of the cruiser and ordered the suspect to drop the sword.

The suspect “then began a full sprint towards the officer with the sword over his head," the statement said. The officer again ordered the suspect to stop before opening fire when the man got close enough to strike.

The suspect remains hospitalized, the chief said. Police did not release his condition.

The officer, whose name was not made public, was not hurt and was put on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.

No arraignment date has been scheduled. It could not immediately be determined if he had a lawyer.

Oxford is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of Boston.