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Police shoot, injure man outside of Kingston mall after he allegedly threatened officers

KINGSTON, Mass. — An investigation is underway after a police officer shot and injured a suspect outside the Kingston Collection early Tuesday morning.

In a news release, Kingston Police said the incident began at around 2:45 a.m. after they received a 911 call from a security guard at the mall alleging a man in his 20s had brandished a large knife and told the security guard to get out of his patrol car.

Responding officers found the man, identified as 25-year-old Alexander Bakutis, of Plymouth, near the entrance of the Sears parking lot. He had a large knife in a sheath on his hip.

When given several verbal comments by officers, Bakutis ignored them all and began to act aggressively and in a threatening manner towards police. Officers attempted to deescalate the situation and used non-lethal tactics to get him to comply, but Bakutis continued to escalate his behavior and, in an effort to stay safe and keep others safe, the officers drew their firearms.

Kingston Police Lieutenant Thomas Kelley told Boston 25 News the officers fired at the suspect around 3 a.m. outside the shopping center, shooting him once in the shoulder.

“Just before 3 a.m. the Kingston police received a 911 call from a security guard patrolling the Kingston Collection reporting that a man was acting threatening and erratically. Kingston police responded and located the man,” said Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz. “He allegedly threatened the officers and shots were fired.”

Cruz said the officer did a variety of things to try to calm the situation before firing his weapon. “It’s an unfortunate event, and obviously police officers now a days are very challenged in the decisions that they make,” said Cruz. “I think that now we’re going to do our investigation, do our job, and see we’ll see where that takes us.”

Kingston police said the officer who fired his gun has been on the force for about 15 years. His name has not been released.

Kelley earlier told Boston 25 Bakutis was transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center by ambulance and later airlifted to a Boston hospital. In a follow-up news conference, the district attorney said he suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but couldn’t provide any further details on the investigation.

Bakutis is currently in police custody and has been charged with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. He is expected to be arraigned remotely by the Plymouth District Court on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

The officer was also taken to the hospital as a precaution, Kelley said.

A large area in front of the mall’s sign was roped off with crime scene tape while police investigated throughout the morning.

A large knife, a taser, an empty bottle of liquor and a backpack were lying on the ground.

This is a developing story. Stay with Boston 25 News as more information is released.

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