The man who was fatally shot by police on Georgia Avenue in D.C. Tuesday night has been identified.
Around 6:10 p.m. on Tuesday, a man driving southbound down Georgia Avenue NW crashed into a police cruiser in the opposite lane before getting out, brandishing a knife through the open window and swinging at the officer inside.
The suspect allegedly demanded the officer’s gun while continuing to swing the knife.
On Wednesday, police identified him as 29-year-old Surafel Zerihun, of Northwest.
At a press conference Tuesday night, D.C. police Chief Pamela Smith said Zerihun became enraged and the altercation quickly escalated.
The officer moved to the passenger seat of the cruiser and demanded Zerihun drop the knife and move away, police said in a news release.
The officer fired their weapon, striking Zerihun. The officer exited the cruiser to check on him, then Zerihun got up and began approaching the officer again.
As police were demanding that Zerihun drop the knife, he went up to another vehicle parked outside a laundromat in the 3500 block of Georgia Avenue NW, where a woman was sitting inside. He attempted to carjack the vehicle while still armed; another officer fired their weapon and struck the man a second time, Smith said.
Zerihun was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman inside the car was not injured during the incident.
The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave. Body camera footage will soon be released as an investigation into the shooting continues.
Police have asked that anyone with information about this case call the department at 202-727-9099 or by texting a tip to 50411.
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